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| Four Year Old Can Be Sued http://www.sabresjunkie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4719 |
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| Author: | CriminallyVu1gar [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 3:11 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/nyreg ... terstitial 4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case By ALAN FEUER Published: October 28, 2010 Citing cases dating back as far as 1928, a judge has ruled that a young girl accused of running down an elderly woman while racing a bicycle with training wheels on a Manhattan sidewalk two years ago can be sued for negligence. Readers' Comments The ruling by the judge, Justice Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, did not find that the girl was liable, but merely permitted a lawsuit brought against her, another boy and their parents to move forward. The suit that Justice Wooten allowed to proceed claims that in April 2009, Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn, who were both 4, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later. Her estate sued the children and their mothers, claiming they had acted negligently during the accident. In a response, Juliet’s lawyer, James P. Tyrie, argued that the girl was not “engaged in an adult activity” at the time of the accident — “She was riding her bicycle with training wheels under the supervision of her mother” — and was too young to be held liable for negligence. In legal papers, Mr. Tyrie added, “Courts have held that an infant under the age of 4 is conclusively presumed to be incapable of negligence.” (Rachel and Jacob Kohn did not seek to dismiss the case against them.) But Justice Wooten declined to stretch that rule to children over 4. On Oct. 1, he rejected a motion to dismiss the case because of Juliet’s age, noting that she was three months shy of turning 5 when Ms. Menagh was struck, and thus old enough to be sued. Mr. Tyrie “correctly notes that infants under the age of 4 are conclusively presumed incapable of negligence,” Justice Wooten wrote in his decision, referring to the 1928 case. “Juliet Breitman, however, was over the age of 4 at the time of the subject incident. For infants above the age of 4, there is no bright-line rule.” The New York Law Journal reported the decision on Thursday. Mr. Tyrie had also argued that Juliet should not be held liable because her mother was present; Justice Wooten disagreed. “A parent’s presence alone does not give a reasonable child carte blanche to engage in risky behavior such as running across a street,” the judge wrote. He added that any “reasonably prudent child,” who presumably has been told to look both ways before crossing a street, should know that dashing out without looking is dangerous, with or without a parent there. The crucial factor is whether the parent encourages the risky behavior; if so, the child should not be held accountable. In Ms. Menagh’s case, however, there was nothing to indicate that Juliet’s mother “had any active role in the alleged incident, only that the mother was ‘supervising,’ a term that is too vague to hold meaning here,” he wrote. He concluded that there was no evidence of Juliet’s “lack of intelligence or maturity” or anything to “indicate that another child of similar age and capacity under the circumstances could not have reasonably appreciated the danger of riding a bicycle into an elderly woman.” Mr. Tyrie, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn did not respond to messages seeking comment. |
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| Author: | BlueandYellow [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 3:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
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| Author: | Van_Da_Man [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
Lawyers! FUCK YEAH! |
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| Author: | Crosscheck [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
Van_Da_Man wrote: "The woman's estate" AKA her greedy soulless children. Seriously...a 4 year old held liable for negligence? Negligence is the god damn definition of a 4 year old. |
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| Author: | Wozniak [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 5:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
so...when they say "run her down", do they mean like the little girl was reenacting Grand Theft Auto? |
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| Author: | sabresindc [ Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
I'm sorry but this is ridiculous. I guess holding mom reliable and negligent is understandable but the flippin 4 year old. I still hate how this country is now a country of litigation. |
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| Author: | blusabre [ Sat Oct 30, 2010 12:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
This is one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard. A four year old doesn't know right from wrong, regardless of what the law says. This wouldn't be quite as ridiculous if the suit were aimed at the parents instead of the actual child. |
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| Author: | acrossthelines [ Sat Oct 30, 2010 2:13 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
Though a four-year-old certainly knows the difference between right and wrong (toddlers an little less than two do, really; watch their defiant little grins when they knowingly disobey their parents), this is, um.... special. Stupid country. |
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| Author: | Seanothan27 [ Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
Crosscheck wrote: Van_Da_Man wrote: "The woman's estate" AKA her greedy soulless children. Seriously...a 4 year old held liable for negligence? Negligence is the god damn definition of a 4 year old. +1 |
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| Author: | fly as hale [ Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:37 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Four Year Old Can Be Sued |
A 4-year-old acting negligent? That's absurd. |
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