Singh v. City of N.Y. - 2020 NY Slip Op 08123, 189 A.D.3d 1697, 139 N.Y.S.3d 307 (App. Div. 2nd Dept.)

Rule:

Administrative Code of the City of NY § 7-201 and General Municipal Law § 50-e together require a plaintiff, in order to bring an action sounding in tort against the City of New York, to serve a notice of claim within 90 days after the date the claim arises. Failure to comply with a statutory notice of claim requirement is a ground for dismissal pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) for failure to state a cause of action.

Facts:

The plaintiffs filed a class action seeking to recover monetary damages for violations of General Business Law § 349 due to the alleged actions of the defendants who intentionally overstated the value of taxi medallions and concealed the fact that the value of those medallions had already begun to decline due to factors known to them but not disclosed to the plaintiffs. The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint due to plaintiffs' failure to serve a notice of claim within 90 days after the claim arose. The trial court dismissed the action. Plaintiffs appealed.

Issue:

Did the trial court properly dismiss the plaintiffs’ action to recover monetary damages?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

Plaintiffs' failure to serve a notice of claim within 90 days after the claim arose. As the plaintiffs' action to recover monetary damages for violations of General Business Law § 349 was a claim sounding in tort that was subject to the requirements of General Municipal Law § 50-e, as a cause of action sounding in fraud, the trial court properly dismissed the action.