§ 3-112 — Liability of parents and legal guardians having custody of an infant for certain damages caused by such infant

§ 3-112. Liability of parents and legal guardians having custody of an\ninfant for certain damages caused by such infant. 1. The parent or\nlegal guardian, other than the state, a local social services department\nor a foster parent, of an infant over ten and less than eighteen years\nof age, shall be liable to any public officer, organization or\nauthority, having by law the care and/or custody of any public property\nof the state or of any political subdivision thereof, or to any private\nindividual or organization having by law the care, custody and/or\nownership of any private property, for damages caused by such infant,\nwhere such infant has willfully, maliciously, or unlawfully damaged,\ndefaced or destroyed such public or private property, whether real or\npersonal, or, where such infant, with intent to deprive the owner and/or\ncustodian of such property or to appropriate the same to himself or\nherself or to a third person, has knowingly entered or remained in a\nbuilding and has wrongfully taken, obtained or withheld such public or\nprivate personal property from such building which personal property is\nowned or maintained by the state or any political subdivision thereof or\nwhich is owned or maintained by any individual, organization or\nauthority, or where such infant has falsely reported an incident or\nplaced a false bomb as defined in section 240.50, subdivision one or two\nof section 240.55, section 240.60 or section 240.61 of the penal law.\nSuch public officer, organization or authority, or private individual or\norganization, as the case may be, may bring an action for civil damages\nin a court of competent jurisdiction for a judgment to recover such\ndamages from such parent or legal guardian other than the state or a\nlocal social services department or a foster parent. For the purposes of\nthis subdivision, damages for falsely reporting an incident or placing a\nfalse bomb shall mean the funds reasonably expended by a victim in\nresponding to such false report, as set forth in subdivision eleven of\nsection 60.27 of the penal law. In no event shall such damages portion\nof a judgment authorized by this section, as described in this\nsubdivision, exceed the sum of five thousand dollars.\n 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nprior to the entering of a judgment under this section in the sum total\nof five hundred dollars or more, the court shall provide such parent or\nlegal guardian of such infant with an opportunity to make an application\nto the court based upon such parent's or legal guardian's financial\ninability to pay any portion or all of the amount of such sum total\nwhich is in excess of five hundred dollars, and upon the return date of\nsuch application, or any adjournment thereof, the court shall, in\nsummary fashion, hear and consider all evidence of financial hardship\npresented tending to establish the inability of such parent or legal\nguardian to pay any or all of the amount of the sum total in excess of\nfive hundred dollars, and the court shall render its decision as to such\nparty's inability to make such payment based upon a preponderance of the\nevidence presented. Upon a decision that such party has established his\nor her inability to make such payment, the court shall enter the\njudgment authorized by this section but in an amount within the\nfinancial capacity of such parent or legal guardian, provided, however,\nthat since the original of the sum total exceeded five hundred dollars,\nno such judgment shall be entered for an amount which is less than five\nhundred dollars.\n 3. It shall be a defense to an action brought under this section that\nrestitution has been paid pursuant to section seven hundred\nfifty-eight-a or 353.6 of the family court act, or paragraph (g) of\nsubdivision two of section 65.10 of the penal law. It shall also be a\ndefense to an action brought under this section that such infant had\nvoluntarily and without good cause abandoned the home of the parent or\nguardian and without good cause refused to submit to the guidance and\ncontrol of the parent or guardian prior to and at the time of the\noccurrence of such damages or destruction. In no event shall it be a\ndefense that the parent or legal guardian has exercised due diligent\nsupervision over the activities of such infant, provided, however, that\nin the interests of justice, the court may consider mitigating\ncircumstances that bear directly upon the actions of the parent or legal\nguardian in supervising such unemancipated infant.\n 4. For the purposes of this section the following definitions shall\napply:\n a. The terms "enters or remains unlawfully" and "building" shall have\nthe same meaning as ascribed to such terms in section 140.00 of the\npenal law.\n b. "Public officer, organization or authority" shall include but not\nbe limited to: those having by law the care and custody of a municipal\ndistrict or corporation; those having by law the care and custody of the\npublic property of the state or of any agency, department, board,\nbureau, commission, division, office, council, committee of the state,\nor of a public benefit corporation or public authority; and the board of\neducation or trustees of any city, union free or common school district\nor the city board of any New York City community school district.\n c. "Private individual or organization" shall include, but not be\nlimited to: any individual, private or public corporation or partnership\nor sole proprietorship, organized church, synagogue or temple,\nnot-for-profit organization or corporation, cemetery corporation, or, if\nsuch liability is as a result of damage upon any cemetery plot or\nmausoleum, the next of kin of a person upon whose gravesite such damage\nor destruction occurred.\n