Kinner v. Board of Education

6 A.D.2d 204, 175 N.Y.S.2d 707, 1958 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5123
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 9, 1958
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 6 A.D.2d 204 (Kinner v. Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kinner v. Board of Education, 6 A.D.2d 204, 175 N.Y.S.2d 707, 1958 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5123 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

Goldman, J.

This is an appeal from a denial of defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to section 476 of the Civil Practice Act, and rule 112 of the Rules of Civil Practice or in the alternative for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The papers before the court at Special Term were the summons, complaint, answer, defendant’s demand for [205]*205a bill of particulars, plaintiff’s bill of particulars, defendant’s affidavit in support of the motion and plaintiff’s affidavit in opposition. The complaint alleges three causes of action growing out of an agreement between the parties whereby plaintiff was to perform certain work and furnish certain materials in connection with the construction of a high school in Camillus, New York.

The first cause of action alleges that in order to induce plaintiff to submit a bid on the proposed construction defendant board of education represented the wage rate, as set by the Industrial Commissioner, to be less than it actually was. That as a result of the higher wage rate then in effect, which true rate defendant knew or should have known, plaintiff incurred additional labor costs. That plaintiff’s bid was based, in part, upon its reliance on defendant’s statement of the wage rate and resulted in substantial damage to him. In his second cause of action plaintiff asserts that the contract between the parties required defendant to furnish temporary heat in the buildings under construction for the benefit of plaintiff and his employees; that by reason of defendant’s failure to supply such heat, plaintiff was obliged to provide it for his employees and therefore should be reimbursed by defendant for this expense. The last cause of action alleges that during construction it became necessary for plaintiff to secure defendant’s approval on changes in design, materials and additional work; that although approval was sought by prompt and proper applications, defendant failed to process such applications resulting in unduly tying up expensive equipment acquired by plaintiff on a rental basis thereby substantially increasing plaintiff’s costs.

Plaintiff pleaded, and defendant denied, due compliance with section 3813 of the Education Law and section 50-e of the General Municipal Law. In addition, as an affirmative defense, defendant alleged failure of plaintiff to file a verified notice of claim in accordance with section 50-e of the General Municipal Law. This is the crux of this appeal and unless plaintiff has shown compliance with the notice requirements the complaint must be dismissed. The record clearly shows that section 3813 of the Education Law was not complied with as regards the first two causes of action. Insofar as pertinent, that section recites: (1) “No action or special proceeding, for any cause whatever, except as hereinafter provided, relating to district property or claim against the district, or involving its rights or interests shall be prosecuted or maintained against any school district, board of education * * * unless it shall [206]*206appear by and as an allegation in the complaint or necessary moving papers that a written verified claim upon which such action * * * is founded was presented to the governing body of said district within three months after the accrual of such claim, and that the officer or body having the power to adjust or pay said claim has neglected or refused to make an adjustment or payment thereof for thirty days after such presentment.”

That the plaintiff’s notice of claim dated June 14, 1956 is fatally late is amply demonstrated by the bill of particulars which must, of course, be considered as a part of the pleadings under the circumstances presented here upon a motion under rule 112 (Cohen v. Erdle, 282 App. Div. 569). As stated in Carmody-Wait on New York Practice (vol. 4, § 8, p. 622): “ Thus on a motion for judgment on the pleading, a bill of particulars must be read with the complaint, and will sustain a dismissal of the complaint where such a reading presents a variance inconsistent with the cause of action ’’.

The bill of particulars categorically states that plaintiff ‘‘ first learned of said increase in the said hourly rates * * * on or about August 22, 1953 ”, or nearly three years before the verification of the notice of claim. As a result the first cause of action must be dismissed. The bill of particulars further states that plaintiff “ furnished temporary heat during the months of November and December of 1954; and January of 1955 ” or about a year and a half before the date of the notice of claim and therefore the second cause of action, too, must be dismissed. Giving the plaintiff the most favorable inferences from all of the facts both of the first two causes of action accrued, and the claims arose, long before the three months’ notice period required by section 50-e of the General Municipal Law.

No facts have been presented by the plaintiff which except him from the rule laid down in Thomann v. City of Rochester (256 N. Y. 165). There the city opened a dump in 1924 which gave off noxious odors damaging plaintiff and his florist business. The city charter required claimants to file claims within 30 days of the accrual thereof stating the nature and extent of their damages “ so far as it is then practicable ” (p, 169). The plaintiff reasoned that the nuisance established by the city was a continuing and continuous one and that the 30-day limitation provision of the city charter was not enacted to cover such a situation. Judge Cardozo’s opinion, which has become a landmark on this subject, pointed out that plaintiff [207]*207could have fully protected his rights by filing a notice of claim as required by the charter even though he did not know the full amount of his damage. The learned Judge might well have been writing about the case at bar when he said (p. 171) : ‘‘ Opportunity there was — opportunity for the collection of the last dollar of the damage—if the plaintiff had mot chosen to sleep upon his fights. He admits that the nuisance was apparent the moment that the dump was opened. Within thirty days thereafter he could have filed a single notice that would have covered all his damage, present or prospective, up to the commencement of the action if it was his purpose to sue at law * * * He was not required to state ‘ the nature and extent ’ of the damage with even approximate precision. The statute is explicit that he shall state them so far as it is then practicable.’ ”

The plaintiff’s contention that the period within which to file notice of claim was extended by reason of the pending negotiations between the parties finds no support in the cases on this subject. Rason Asphalt v. Town of Oyster Boy (8 Misc 2d 411) and Edlux Constr. Corp. v. State of New York (252 App. Div. 373, affd. 277 N. Y. 635) cited by plaintiff, are completely distinguishable on their facts and properly granted relief to the plaintiff where the delay in the filing of the notice of claim was due entirely to the failure of the defendant to audit the claim. In such a situation plaintiff had done everything possible to submit his claim in due time, but was frustrated in both cases by the action of the comptroller, and the claims were timely filed once the plaintiff was notified of audit and rejection. The instant case presents no similar circumstances. That this department has followed the reasoning of Thomann v. City of Rochester (256 N. Y. 165, supra) is demonstrated by two decisions where this court was required to bar school teachers from receiving salary increases by reason of late filing pf claims (Todd v.

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Bluebook (online)
6 A.D.2d 204, 175 N.Y.S.2d 707, 1958 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kinner-v-board-of-education-nyappdiv-1958.