Opinion
November 16, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Schenectady County (Lynch, J.).
Decedent, Jonathan A. Wallace, three years of age, was fatally injured when struck by defendants' automobile. When the accident occurred the infant was chasing a ball into the cul-de-sac by his home. Plaintiffs, decedent's parents, who were in the immediate vicinity at the time of the accident, commenced this action for their son's wrongful death and for the pain and suffering endured by plaintiff Laurie J. Wallace, decedent's mother, who assertedly was in the zone of danger. Defendants moved to amend their answer to add a counterclaim charging that plaintiffs' negligence was the primary cause of the accident; their claimed negligence is that they did not keep decedent from playing in the street. Defendants appeal the denial of their motion. We affirm.
The gravamen of the counterclaim is negligent parental supervision of a child, which is not actionable ( see, Holodook v Spencer, 36 N.Y.2d 35, 48; Hlavinka v Slovak Sky Bungalow Colony, 203 A.D.2d 855). Defendants' contrary view notwithstanding, a breach of no duty, apart from that stemming from the family relationship, has been alleged ( see, Barocas v Woolworth Co., 207 A.D.2d 145; Walden v Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., 116 A.D.2d 963).
Cardona, P.J., White, Casey and Spain, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.