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TH E N EW Y O R K STA TE B A R A SSO C I A T I O N

URGES APPROV AL O F TH IS L EG ISLA TIO N

NYSBA#40 - GOV July 18, 2012

S. 7641-B By: Senator MartinsA. 10657-A By: Rules (M. of A. Weinstein)

Senate Committee: RulesAssembly Committee: Judiciary

Effective Date: 180 days after enactmentwith provisions

A N A C T to amend the civil practice law and rules, the general municipal law, and others,in relation to establishing a uniform process and requirement for the filing of notices ofclaim prior to the commencement of a cause of action against any state or municipalentity, public authority or public The Uniform Notice of Claim Act.

LA W AND SECT ION REF ERRED TO:New Section 217-a of the Civil Practice Lawand Rules; Section 50-e of the General Municipal Law; and various others.

This bill would amend the CPLR and the General Municipal Law to establishthe Uniform Notice of Claim Act (Act). The Act would provide plaintiffs with auniform, fair and statutorily consistent procedure for serving a notice of claim ofintention to commence a proceeding in the courts of this state for damages suffered as an

aggrieved party, and similarly provide for a statutorily consistent statute of limitationsapplicable to such actions.

B A C K G R O U N D

In particular, this bill would amend the CPLR to state that all notices of claimserved on any entity entitled to such a notice as a condition precedent to thecommencement of an action are subject to the requirements of General Municipal LawSection 50-e as amended by this legislation. It would also provide that the statute oflimitations applicable to actions, except wrongful death actions, against such entities shallbe one year and ninety days or the time period specified in any other provision of law,

whichever period is longer.

In addition, the bill would amend the General Municipal Law to allow thatnotices of claim against any public corporation may be served on the Secretary of State ata location designated by the Secretary for that purpose, and require the Secretary of Stateto forward a copy to the entity named in the notice of claim. Service of the notice ofclaim shall be complete when served on the Secretary of State.

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The bill would also amend the General Municipal Law to require entitiesentitled to receive a notice of claim to file a certificate with the Secretary of State thatidentifies the name and address to which the Secretary of State must transmit notices ofclaims. Failure of an entity to file such a certificate will not invalidate any notice ofclaim served on the Secretary of State. It would also provide for a $250 filing fee for

service of a notice of claim on the Secretary of State, with half of that fee to be retainedby the Secretary of State and the other half provided to the entity or entities named in thenotice of claim.

Finally, the bill would amend multiple sections of various statutory provisionsthat govern entities entitled to a notice of claim as a condition precedent to thecommencement of an action. These amendments would provide unified a procedure forfiling a notice of claim, and specifically provide that the time limits contained in GeneralMunicipal Law Section 50-e are generally applicable. Moreover, the bill would amendrelevant statutes of limitations to provide a minimum time limit of one year and ninetydays to bring an action against a public corporation.

DISCUSSION

Current statutes governing the filing of notices of claim and commencing anaction or proceeding against a public corporation have become confusing and difficult forall concerned. Historically, state-created governmental and quasi-governmental bodieshave been given the statutory authority to require that such entities receive a notice ofclaim as a condition precedent to commencement of an action or proceeding againstthem. These various statutory requirements have resulted in a multiplicity of sometimesdisparate and confusing procedural rules and time limits. The existing patchwork ofstatutes governing claims against these entities are neither consistent, nor are theycatalogued or organized in the same, similar or readily locatable sections of the law. Theresult is that even the most diligent, conscientious and able potential claimant can bemisled by the lack of a uniform procedure for filing notices of claim and bringing actionsagainst governmental and quasi-governmental entities.

In addition, costly, time-consuming and resource-wasting litigation often ensuesover arcane issues of notice of claim service and other procedural quirks, unnecessarilyburdening the courts as well as the agencies involved, while at the same timeundermining public confidence in the reasonableness and rationality of New York's laws.This bill would provide a uniform, fair and easily accessible method for serving a noticeof claim via service on the Secretary of State in addition to those methods of servicecurrently existing, and thus provide uniformity to procedural rules governing actionsagainst governmental and quasi-governmental entities.

CONCLUSION

Based upon the foregoing, the New York State Bar Association recommendsAPPROVAL of this bill.