Opinion
Argued May 21, 1999
June 28, 1999
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for false arrest and false imprisonment, the defendant City of New York appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Taylor, J.), dated June 17, 1998, as denied its motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims insofar as asserted against it.
Michael D. Hess, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Pamela Seider Dolgow and John Hogrogian of counsel), for appellant.
Stanley Fidel, Bronx, N.Y., for respondent.
CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, J.P., GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, ANITA R. FLORIO, HOWARD MILLER, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs, the appellant's motion is granted, and the complaint and all cross claims are dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellant.
Even assuming the facts are as alleged by the plaintiff, the defendant City of New York showed that, as a matter of law, there was reasonable cause to arrest the plaintiff. Thus, the plaintiff could not make out his claim for false arrest and/or false imprisonment against the City ( see, People v. Evans, 237 A.D.2d 458; Minott v. City of New York, 203 A.D.2d 265; Richardson v. New York Univ., 202 A.D.2d 295; Veras v. Truth Verification Corp., 87 A.D.2d 381, affd 57 N.Y.2d 947; see generally, Parvi v. City of Kingston, 41 N.Y.2d 553). This shifted the burden to the plaintiff to show the existence of a triable question of fact as to that issue. Since the plaintiff failed to do so, the court erred in denying the City's motion to dismiss the complaint and all cross claims insofar as asserted against it ( see generally, Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557).