New York Court of Appeals Will Hear Oral Arguments Concerning Offensive Use of Res Ipsa Loquitur

Can a plaintiff use the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to win summary judgment on liability?  The Appellate Division, Second Department in Morejon v. Rais Construction Co. granted the plaintiffs' motion for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals to determine the issue.

The plaintiff's decedent was injured while delivering materials to a private residence that was undergoing renovation.  Building materials fell from the roof of the house and struck the plaintiff's head.  The plaintiff commenced a negligence action against the general contractor and its principals.  The Court reversed Supreme Court's grant of partial summary judgment to the plaintiff for common-law negligence pursuant to the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.  The Court following well-settled case law reasoned that the doctrine may not be used as the basis for granting summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff on the issue of liability.

Without researching the point, my initial take on the issue appears obvious.  Isn't the doctrine "a shield" for a plaintiff to present an inference of negligence to a jury based on certain accidents that would not occur but for someone's negligence, given that the plaintiff would not be in a position to address the details of how the accident occurred?   How can that doctrine be used as a "sword" to gain summary judgment?

New York Civil Law will keep you apprised of the Court of Appeals' decision in the near future.

Comments

[Michael Hutter]

The Fourth Department takes a different view and permits RIL to be used as a basis to obtain S/J. See, Manning, 12 AD3d 1091. The Court's use of RIL in such a manner rests upon a determination that the inference of negligence is inescapable. A good discussion of the application of the 4th Dept law can be found in Kemak v. Syracuse Unversity, NY Slip Op 31667 (Sup Ct 2002). As Matt states, it does seem to be an odd use of the doctrine even with the "inescapable" limit.

[Bill Altreuter]

My first take is, "why not"? Certainly in the context of medical malpractice it would make sense. (Actually, my all-time favorite case about misplaced sponges is your partner, Al D'Aquino's Munchausen Syndrome case.)