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Van Vlack v. Baker

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Sep 29, 1997
242 A.D.2d 704 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

Opinion

September 29, 1997

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Putnam County (Hickman, J.).


Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the defendants' motions are granted.

There is no merit to the plaintiff's contention that the defendants Steven Martens and Christopher Shultz, each of whom was found by a jury to be 15% at fault for the plaintiff's injuries under General Obligations Law § 11-100 (the social host statute), may not benefit from the protection afforded by CPLR 1601. CPLR 1601 limits the liability of a defendant found to be 50% or less at fault in causing the plaintiff's noneconomic losses to that defendant's share of the fault ( see, CPLR 1601; Siler v. 146 Montague Assocs., 228 A.D.2d 33). Since the instant situation does not fall within any of the exceptions to CPLR 1601 that are enumerated in CPLR 1602, it was improper for the court to determine that CPLR 1601 did not apply to the appellants on the ground that the policies underlying the enactment of General Obligations Law § 11-100 outweighed the policies underlying the subsequent enactment of CPLR article 16 ( see, McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 1, Statutes §§ 73, 74, 94; see also, Arbegast v. Board of Educ., 65 N.Y.2d 161, 169; Easley v New York State Thruway Auth., 1 N.Y.2d 374, 379; Schrader v. Carney, 180 A.D.2d 200; Robinson v. June, 167 Misc.2d 483).

Pizzuto, J.P., Santucci, Friedmann and Luciano, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Van Vlack v. Baker

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Sep 29, 1997
242 A.D.2d 704 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
Case details for

Van Vlack v. Baker

Case Details

Full title:BRIAN R. VAN VLACK, Respondent, v. ROBERT P. BAKER et al., Defendants, and…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Sep 29, 1997

Citations

242 A.D.2d 704 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
663 N.Y.S.2d 49

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