Negligent Supervision Case Survives Summary Judgment Motion from School District

In Cole Nizen-Jacobellis v. Lindenhurst Union Free School District (Index No. 1616/16, and recently decided on February 24, 2021), the Appellate Division, Second Department denied a defendant school district's motion for summary judgment (which sought dismissal of a case), finding that issues of fact warranted the matter to proceed to trial.  The case arose due to an incident occurring on April 22, 2014, in which the plaintiff - then a 10th grade student at a pubic high school within the defendant Lindenhurst Union Free School District - suffered injuries after being attacked by a student (particularly, after a class ended, the plaintiff's head was thrust into a bulletin board by another student).  Thereafter, in February 2016, the plaintiff commenced a lawsuit against the defendant school district, alleging claims including negligent supervision.  At some point during the pre-trial process, the defendant moved for summary judgment, and the lower court granted the motion - thereby dismissing the lawsuit.

On appeal, however, the Appellate Division reversed (resulting in the case being restored), holding, among other things, the following: "While the plaintiff testified that he had never been physically assaulted by the other student prior to the subject incident, he testified that the other student always made threatening comments to him during Spanish class, of which seven or eight were serious in nature, and three or four were accompanied by a closed fist motion in an attempt to get the plaintiff to flinch.  The plaintiff also testified that he complained about these threats to the Spanish teacher, who had witnessed the other student make a closed fist motion toward the plaintiff on at least one or two occasions, and that he asked the teacher if she could do something about these threats, but she never said anything to the other student...With respect to proximate cause, the School District did not demonstrate, prima facie, that the subject incident occurred so quickly and spontaneously 'that even the most intense supervision could not have prevented it'...The plaintiff testified that approximately 10 minutes before the end of class on the date of the assault, while the class was silently working on an assignment, the other student threatened out loud to stab him, which was overheard by the rest of the class and the teacher."

Salvatore R. Marino, Esq.