Berlin & Jones, Inc. v. State

85 Misc. 2d 970, 381 N.Y.S.2d 778, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2094
CourtNew York Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 22, 1976
DocketClaim No. 57264; Claim No. 57769
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 85 Misc. 2d 970 (Berlin & Jones, Inc. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berlin & Jones, Inc. v. State, 85 Misc. 2d 970, 381 N.Y.S.2d 778, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2094 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Henry W. Lengyel, J.

These claims for indemnification and reimbursement were joined for trial purposes by order of Judge Sidney Squire dated April 4, 1975. I shall render one decision upon which separate judgments may be entered.

The second paragraph of Claim No. 57264 stated: "This claim is for indemnification and reimbursement for a Judgment rendered against Berlin & Jones, Inc. in the sum of * * * $480,000.00 * * * which was reduced to the sum of * * * $380,000.00 * * * by the Court. A copy of said Judgment entered in the Supreme Court, New York on October 31, 1972 is attached hereto * * *.” It should be noted that in the Supreme Court action the corporate defendant was entitled Burlin & Jones, Inc., whereas in this action as claimant it was entitled Berlin & Jones, Inc. It appealed the Supreme Court judgment which was affirmed by a divided court in Lyons v Burlin & Jones (43 AD2d 528). The appellate determination was affirmed without opinion by the Court of Appeals (34 [972]*972NY2d 896). The judgment of October 31, 1972 was paid in full on or about August 6, 1974.

The second paragraph of Claim No. 57769 stated: "This claim is for indemnification and reimbursement in the amount of * * * $106,200.00 * * *; said sum having been paid by claimants in settlement of an action entitled "Berger et al vs. Burlin & Jones, Inc. et al” in the Supreme Court, New York County. The aforementioned settlement was effected on October 24, 1972 and payment of same was made on or about November 17, 1972.”

The Supreme Court actions arose out of a three-car collision which occurred on February 18, 1969. The most seriously injured party was Frank A. Lyons, the driver of a westbound vehicle. The principal defendants were Jerome H. Lyons (no relation), the driver of an eastbound vehicle, and his employer, Berlin & Jones, Inc. The trial of these multiple personal injury and property damage cases occupied 11 trial days between October 10 and 25, 1972.

The Berlin claim (Claim No. 57264) was filed with the Clerk of the Court of Claims and served upon the Attorney-General on January 15, 1973.

A notice of intention to file a claim was filed with the Clerk of the Court of Claims on January 12, 1973, and served upon the Attorney-General on January 15, 1973. The claim, which related to said notice of intention, was filed with the Clerk of the Court of Claims on August 20, 1973 and was served upon the Attorney-General on August 17, 1973. That claim was designated Claim No. 57769.

At the close of the trial in the Court of Claims, the Assistant Attorney-General moved, among other grounds, to dismiss both of these claims as being jurisdictionally defective because of untimely filing. I reserved decision.

As the accident which generated all of this litigation occurred prior to March 22, 1972, the effective date of Dole v Dow Chem. Co. (30 NY2d 143), the State contended that claimants were required to file and serve a notice of intention or claim on or before September 22, 1972; or, within six months of the Dole effective date. Basically, it was the State’s position that the contribution claim which stems from a core action accrues on the day of injury.

The Assistant Attorney-General conceded for purposes of argument in these claims that subdivision 4 of section 10 of [973]*973the Court of Claims Act was the controlling jurisdictional time-limitation statute. His concession was in accord with several Court of Claims decisions on this point. (See O’Sullivan v State of New York, 83 Misc 2d 426; Leibowitz v State of New York, 82 Misc 2d 424; Bay Ridge Air Rights v State of New York, Claim No. 59365, filed Dec. 18, 1975; and Relyea v State of New York, Claim No. 57973, filed Jan. 9, 1976.)

I agree on this point with my colleagues. I hold that claimants herein had six months from the date their claims accrued in which to file and serve a notice of intention or claim. Of course, if claimants followed the notice of intention route, they were required to serve and file a claim within two years after the date of accrual. (See Court of Claims Act, § 10, subd 4; § 11.)

The difficult and vexatious question is, when did the contribution claims at bar accrue?

If contribution or partial indemnity claims accrue on the date of the tort from which they stem, I must dismiss these pre-Dole claims. (See Leibowitz v State of New York, 82 Misc 2d 424, supra.)

If such claims accrue on the date of entry of judgment in the primary action, then I must deny the State’s motion to dismiss. (See O’Sullivan v State of New York, 83 Misc 2d 426, supra.)

There is, however, a third alternative, namely, that claims seeking contribution from a joint tortfeasor in a separate and independent action which stems from a core action, do not accrue until payment has been made, either under settlements effected between March 22, 1972 and September 1, 1974 (See Codling v Paglia, 32 NY2d 330, 344; General Obligations Law, § 15-108, subd [c]; cf. Rock v Reed-Prentice Div. of Package Mach. Co., 39 NY2d 34) or, under judgments entered in the primary action. I am in accord with the third alternative.

I have carefully read the thoughtful and well-reasoned decisions which held that the date of the original tort controlled the starting or trigger date for the Statute of Limitations in contribution or partial indemnity actions. I have not been persuaded by those decisions. I noted that, although the Federal courts apply the Federal two-year tort statute to contribution claims, the statute does not commence to run until the date of payment after judgment in the primary action. In United States Lines v United States (470 F2d 487, [974]*974489) it was written: "Provided there exists a right to contribution or indemnity, the applicable two-year statute of limitations (28 U.S.C.A. § 2401 (b)) does not run from the date of injury but from the time the right to contribution or indemnity accrued, namely, date of payment * * *. See 54 C.J.S. Limitations of Actions § 160; Kantlehner v. United States, D.C., 279 F. Supp. 122; Keleket X-Ray Corporation v. United States, 107 U.S. App. D. C. 138, 275 F. 2d 167; States Steamship Company v. American Smelting & Refining Company, 339 F. 2d 66 (9 Cir.).” To hold otherwise could deprive many claimants of an opportunity to seek contribution from the State. Admittedly, under Atlantic Mut. Ins. Co. v State of New York (50 AD2d 356, 357, 358) it was held that a claimant” may prospectively file an effective notice of intention to file a claim under the provisions of section 10 of the Court of Claims Act and thereby preserve its status as a claimant in an action against the State in the event a workmen’s compensation recipient fails to timely commence such an action” and, that "a prospective claimant may file to preserve its rights before it becomes endowed with the official status of a claimant.” (See, also, Matter of Johnson v State of New York, 49 AD2d 136, 138, 139; City of New York v State of New York, 49 AD2d 661, 663.) However, I cannot believe the appellate courts would apply the prospective filing rule to preserve an application of the day of injury theory in contribution or partial indemnity claims. Such an application could give rise to illogical and unreasonable results. Assume that "A” and the State were joint tortfeasors in a motor vehicle collision and "B” was the injured party.

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Bluebook (online)
85 Misc. 2d 970, 381 N.Y.S.2d 778, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2094, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berlin-jones-inc-v-state-nyclaimsct-1976.