Opinion
March 4, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Howard Silver, J.).
In this tort action brought by a prison inmate seeking to recover monetary damages for personal injuries sustained during a spontaneous fight with other inmates in a correctional facility, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in directing a bifurcated trial where the plaintiff failed to make a convincing showing that the issues of liability and damages were intertwined (Szeztaye v. LaVacca, 179 A.D.2d 555; Berthoumieux v We Try Harder, 170 A.D.2d 248, 249).
Nor did the trial court abuse its discretion in excusing a juror who had strong family ties to the prison warden, who had authored an investigative report sought to be introduced by plaintiff's counsel to establish the City's negligence, based upon the court's determination that the close personal relationship could well cause the juror to lend more credence to the report than might a neutral juror (see, People v Provenzano, 50 N.Y.2d 420, 425).
We also find that the court's charge as to foreseeability and actual or constructive notice, when read as a whole, amply and reasonably conveyed to the jury the proper legal principles (Timmons v. Hecker, 110 A.D.2d 762; De Vito v. Bell, 54 A.D.2d 683).
We have reviewed the plaintiff's remaining claims, including an unpreserved challenge to the defense summation, and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Wallach, Kupferman, Kassal and Rubin, JJ.