Monteleone v. Incorporated Village of Floral Park
Cases that cite this one
67 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.
- American Insurance v. City of Jamestown (District Court, W.D. New York 2012)
- Gorman v. Town of Huntington (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2007)
- Zucker v. Capitelli (District Court, E.D. New York 1990)
- Pylarinos v. Town of Huntington (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2017)
- O'Brien v. City of Schenectady (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2006)
- Hughes v. City of Niagara Falls (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)
- Horan v. Christ Episcopal Church (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)
- Grant v. Inc. Village of Lloyd Harbor (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1992)
- Zawacki v. Town of North Hempstead (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1992)
- Zash v. County of Nassau (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1991)
- Hughes v. Jahoda (N.Y. 1990)
- Buccellato v. County of Nassau (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1990)
- Kolenda v. Incorporated Vil. of Garden City (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2023)
- Lipari v. Town of Oyster Bay (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Lipari v. Town of Oyster Bay (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Foley v. County of Suffolk (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2011)
- Gorman v. Town of Huntington (N.Y. 2009)
- Farrell v. City of New York (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2008)
- Carlo v. Town of Babylon (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2008)
- Herzog v. Schroeder (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2004)
- Fulgum v. Town of Cortlandt (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
- Lowenthal v. Theodore H. Heidrich Realty Corp. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
- Torres v. City of New York (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
- Goldburt v. County of Nassau (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
- Bang v. Town of Smithtown (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2002)
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.
Plaintiff Thomas C. Monteleone was injured when a low-lying branch overhanging the sidewalk hit him in the eye, while he was walking on a sidewalk in the respondent Village of Floral Park. Thomas’ father then commenced this negligence action on his son’s behalf. Section 57-1 of the Code of the Village of Floral Park, patterned after the prior notice statute in Village Law §6-628, provides that no civil action shall be brought against the Village as a result of an accident caused by a sidewalk "being defective * * * unsafe, dangerous or obstructed” unless the Village Clerk had received written notice of the condition prior to the occurrence of the accident, and the Village failed to correct the condition within a reasonable period. The courts below properly dismissed plaintiff’s complaint on the ground that the low-lying tree branch was an obstructed condition within the meaning of the Village’s prior notice statute, and the Village had received no notice of that condition, as required, before plaintiff’s accident. Our decisions in Alexander v Eldred (63 NY2d 460) and Doremus v Incorporated Vil. of Lynbrook (18 NY2d 362) do not hold to the contrary. In those cases, we refused to hold that a defective or missing traffic sign was a defective condition within the meaning of the prior notice statutes. We also emphasized that prior written notice statutes should be strictly construed and refer "to physical conditions in the streets or sidewalks * * * which do not immediately come to the attention of the village officers unless they are given actual notice thereof.” (Doremus v Incorporated Vil. of Lynbrook, 18 NY2d 362, 366,
Moreover, the Village’s planting of, and subsequent failure to prune, the tree that injured plaintiff did not constitute affirmative negligence rendering the Village’s prior notice statute inapplicable (see, Muszynyski v City of Buffalo, 33 AD2d 648, affd on opn below 29 NY2d 810). At most, the Village’s conduct amounted to nonfeasance (compare, Radicello v Village of Spring Val., 115 AD2d 466 [municipality’s mere failure to remove snow and ice from sidewalk is not affirmative negligence], with Siddon v Fishman Co., 65 AD2d 832, lv denied 46 NY2d 714 [prior notice statute requirement held inapplicable where plaintiff was injured climbing over snow piled by municipality between parking meters]).
Chief Judge Wachtler and Judges Simons, Kaye, Alexander, Hancock, Jr., and Bellacosa concur; Judge Titone 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.