Siewert v. Loudonville Elementary School
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; November 30, 1994; New York; State Appellate Court
An appeal was made regarding an order from the Supreme Court that granted defendants’ motion in limine in a personal injury case involving an eight-year-old student injured while snow sliding at Loudonville Elementary School. The plaintiff's daughter was injured after sliding into a snow bank, despite being denied permission to participate due to wearing only sneakers. The plaintiff's amended complaint included claims of negligent supervision and knowledge of a hazardous condition related to the snow bank. Defendants sought summary judgment, arguing that the injury resulted from the child's own negligence rather than lack of supervision and that the snow bank did not present a dangerous condition. While the Supreme Court initially denied the summary judgment motion on the supervision claim, the defendants later moved to limit the trial to the issue of negligent supervision, which the court granted, excluding any testimony regarding the dangerous condition. On appeal, it was determined that the Supreme Court acted within its authority, as the defendants had provided sufficient evidence to support both theories of liability, while the plaintiff only substantiated the negligent supervision claim. The appellate court affirmed the order, concluding that the Supreme Court's limitation on the proof presented was appropriate given the plaintiff’s failure to address the dangerous condition in their opposition to the summary judgment motion. The decision was affirmed with costs awarded to the defendants.