Sidewalk trip and fall cases have special problems associated with them.  As municipalities grew tired of being sued, they enacted strict notice rules, which, along with the General Municipal Law filing procedures, made for a maze.

Here is an example [from Newsbriefs of the NYLJ] of a case in which the town required plaintffs to file their notice in a special place, and then attempted to defend saying that the plaintiff followed the towns rule!

"In a case of first impression, a Brooklyn appeals panel has ruled that a municipality is estopped from claiming a lack-of-notice defense in sidewalk trip-and-fall cases if its employee instructs a member of the public to provide notice of a condition to the wrong department but the notice is nonetheless received by the department responsible for the record-keeping, inspection and repair of sidewalks. In a case involving a plaintiff who fell when her shoe allegedly was caught on an "uneven slab of sidewalk," the Town of Huntington denied receipt of prior written notice of the defect. Supreme Court Justice Gary J. Weber of Suffolk County (See Profile) denied the town’s cross motion for summary judgment. Last week, in a 13-page opinion by Justice Mark C. Dillon (See Profile), the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed. "The Town, having instructed [a complainant] to send his written notice . . . to the director of the [Department of Engineering Services], cannot now be permitted to use that instruction as a shield against liability," Justice Dillon wrote. "To do so would result in an injustice to any claimant where there has been compliance with a clear directive, from a Town agent employed by the municipal department that maintains sidewalk complaint records, to file written notice of a dangerous sidewalk condition with someone other than the statutory designee." Gorman v. Town of Huntington, 06-05584, will be published Thursday