Opinion
# 2016-016-012 Claim No. 123220 Motion No. M-87827
02-01-2016
MARK ST. REMY v. STATE OF NEW YORK
Grey & Grey, LLP Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General By: Nicole M. Procida, AAG
Synopsis
Case information
| UID: | 2016-016-012 |
| Claimant(s): | MARK ST. REMY |
| Claimant short name: | ST. REMY |
| Footnote (claimant name) : | |
| Defendant(s): | STATE OF NEW YORK |
| Footnote (defendant name) : | |
| Third-party claimant(s): | |
| Third-party defendant(s): | |
| Claim number(s): | 123220 |
| Motion number(s): | M-87827 |
| Cross-motion number(s): | |
| Judge: | Alan C. Marin |
| Claimant's attorney: | Grey & Grey, LLP |
| Defendant's attorney: | Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General By: Nicole M. Procida, AAG |
| Third-party defendant's attorney: | |
| Signature date: | February 1, 2016 |
| City: | New York |
| Comments: | |
| Official citation: | |
| Appellate results: | |
| See also (multicaptioned case) |
Decision
The State of New York moves here to dismiss Mark St. Remy's claim that he fell from a ladder while working on a construction project at the State University's Downstate Medical Center on November 16, 2012. Defendant argues that Mr. St. Remy's claim lacks the specificity required by section 11(b) of the Court of Claims Act (the "Act").
The claim gives the time and date of the fall and that it occurred at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. The claim has the address as 450 Clarkson Avenue; the Notice of Intention to File Claim (the "Notice of Intention"), annexed to the claim, has it as "445 Lenox Road and /or 450 Clarkson Avenue."
The claim states that St. Remy was injured "when the ladder fell out from under him." The Notice of Intention added that he was on the 8th floor in "the/a mechanical room" and that the ladder was unsecured (defendant's "Affirmation in Support," exhibit A, paragraph 3).
Previously, by Decision and Order dated March 9, 2015, this Court denied St. Remy's application to amend his claim to add that: he was on an A-frame ladder in the mechanical room on the medical school side of 450 Clarkson Avenue, working on a static pressure switch; when the cover fell off the switch, claimant tried to grab it, the ladder shifted and he fell.
The request to amend was denied because section 11 (b) of the Act requires that in a suit for personal injury, "The claim shall state the time when and place where such claim arose, the nature of same, [and] the items of damage or injuries claimed to have been sustained. . . " The Court of Appeals has held that "[b]ecause suits against the State are allowed only by the State's waiver of sovereign immunity and in derogation of the common law, statutory requirements conditioning suit must be strictly construed . . ." (Dreger v New York State Thruway Auth., 81 NY2d 721, 724 [1992]).
Dreger involved the method of service. A failure to be sufficiently specific per section 11 (b) is also a jurisdictional defect that requires dismissal (Kolnacki v State of New York, 8 NY3d 277 [2007]). The Court of Claims defendant is not required to go beyond the claim for information that would support section 11 (b) compliance. (Cobin v State of New York, 234 AD2d 498 [2d Dept 1996]).
We know when Mr. St. Remy's accident occurred, but from the claim (and Notice of Intention), we do not know enough about where and how it occurred. See for example, Triani v State of New York, 44 AD3d 1032 (2d Dept 2007), reversing 2006 wl 6067589 (Ct Cl 2006); and Cannon v State of New York, 163 Misc 2d 623 (Ct Cl 1994).
In view of the foregoing and having reviewed the submission of the defendant (claimant did not submit opposition papers), IT IS ORDERED that defendant's motion No. M-87827 is granted, and claim No.123220 is dismissed.
The defendant State of New York submitted a Notice of Motion and an Affirmation in Support of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (with exhibits A though E). --------
February 1, 2016
New York, New York
Alan C. Marin
Judge of the Court of Claims