Ferreira v City of Binghamton (2022 NY Slip Op 01953)

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has inquired whether New York’s ” ‘special duty’ requirement” applies “to claims of injury inflicted through municipal negligence” or if it applies only to claims premised upon a municipality’s negligent “failure to protect the plaintiff from an injury inflicted other than by a municipal employee” (975 F3d 255, 291 [2d Cir 2020]). Consistent with our precedent and the purpose of the special duty rule, we reiterate that plaintiffs must establish that a municipality owed them a special duty when they assert a negligence claim based on actions taken by a municipality acting in a governmental capacity. We further clarify that plaintiffs may establish a special duty when a municipality, acting through its police force, plans and executes a no-knock search warrant at a person’s home, and that such a duty runs to the individuals within the targeted premises at the time the warrant is executed.

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