Recent New York Court of Appeals Decision Clarifies General Municipal Law sec. 50-i

Although most probably knew this rule already, the New York Court of Appeals set the City of New York straight about General Municipal Law sec. 50-i in Campbell v. City of New York.  The Court reaffirmed its prior holdings which stated that the one-year and ninety day time period set forth in section 50-i is to be considered a limitations period, not a condition precedent.  This means that the statue of limitations period is subject to tolling, an issue in Campbell.   Thus, a claimant has one year and ninety days to commence an action after the happening of the event.

For those uninitiated in commencing a claim against a municipality, the General Municipal Law requires that the claimant file a notice of claim with the municipality before commencing a claim against that municipality.  The applicable section of the General Municipal Law are here.