New York Court of Appeals, 1986

Boltax v. Joy Day Camp

New York Court of Appeals · Decided January 14, 1986

67 N.Y.2d 617; 490 N.E.2d 527; 499 N.Y.S.2d 660; 1986 N.Y. LEXIS 16719

Cases that cite this one

146 later published cases cite this decision. The 24 that cite it most often are listed here.

Howard v. Poseidon Pools, Inc. (New York Supreme Court 1986)
Mesick v. State (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1986)
Gregory Caraballo v. United States (2d Cir. 1987)
Babcock v. County of Oswego (New York Supreme Court 1996)
Kriz v. Schum (N.Y. 1989)
Lionarons v. General Electric Co. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1995)
Shutak v. Handler (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1993)
Winant v. Carefree Pools (District Court, E.D. New York 1989)
Knickerbocker v. De Mars (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1989)
Woodling v. Garrett Corp. (2d Cir. 1987)
Vumbaca v. Terminal One Group Ass'n (District Court, E.D. New York 2012)
Garcia v. City of New York (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1994)
Amatulli v. Delhi Construction Corp. (N.Y. 1991)
Denkensohn v. Davenport (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1989)
Nieswand v. Cornell University (District Court, N.D. New York 1988)
Cruz v. New York City Transit Authority (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1988)
Machado v. Yacht Haven U.S.V.I., LLC (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands 2014)
TKESHELASHVILI v. State of NY (N.Y. 2011)
Litts v. Best Kingston General Rental (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2004)
Beninati v. Yamaha Motor Co. (New York Supreme Court 1998)
Huber v. Malone (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)
Johnson v. Harrington (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1995)
Walter v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1993)
Olsen v. Town of Richfield (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1992)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs.

To establish a prima facie case of negligence, a "plaintiff must generally show that the defendant’s negligence was a substantial cause of the events which produced the injury” (Derdiarian v Felix Contr. Corp., 51 NY2d 308, 315). When an intervening act also contributes to the plaintiff’s injuries, "liability turns upon whether the intervening act is a normal or foreseeable consequence of the situation created by the defendant’s negligence” (Derdiarian v Felix Contr. Corp., 51 NY2d, at p 315, supra). Assuming for purposes of this motion for summary judgment that defendants’ alleged negligence— allowing trespassers to gain entry to the pool area and dangerously maintaining the pool by having it filled below capacity *620and by placing a lifeguard chair near the pool’s shallow end— was a causative factor in plaintiff’s injuries, the reckless conduct of plaintiff, an adult experienced in swimming and knowledgeable about the general dangers of diving, who admitted his familiarity with the various water levels at each part of the pool, yet chose to dive head first from the lifeguard chair into shallow water, was an unforeseeable superseding event that absolves defendants of liability (see, Prosser and Keeton, Torts § 44, at 313-314 [5th ed 1984]; Basso v Miller, 40 NY2d 233, 241 ["foreseeability shall be a measure of (a landowner’s) liability”]). "[W]here only one conclusion may be drawn from the established facts * * * the question of legal cause may be decided as a matter of law” (Derdiarian v Felix Contr. Corp., supra, at p 315).

Chief Judge Wachtler and Judges Meyer, Simons, Kaye, Alexander and Titone concur; Judge Hancock, Jr., taking no part.

On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.4), order affirmed, with costs, in a memorandum.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.