The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1900-09-21
MANY DAMAGE SUITS.
Claims Aggregating Five Million DOL
lars Annually Brought Against
New York City.

| New York City.
] Claims filed against the city of New
York for damages, some real some
exaggerated and some fictitious,
amount in the year on the average to
$5,000,O00. There is practically no
subject of claim upon which demand
for pecuniary compensation can be
based which has not at some time
been urged against the city, and some
of these claims as filed present O
somewhat grotesque character. The
law provides that any person having,
or claiming to have, just cause of
action against the city, or valid
claim against it, must file it in writ
ing with the comptroller. The law
gives the comptroller 80 days for ex-
animation into any claim thus filed,
and no proceedings for it's collection
can be taken until the expiration of
that period. Then, if no determine
ton of the matter is reached, the
claimant brings suit, the defense
of which, for the city, devolves upon
the corporation counsel, says the New
York Sun.
Some of the claimants against the
| city ask no more than reasonable re-
Enumeration for the damages they
have suffered, or the disabilities they
have been put under, but much
larger number interpose extravagant
claims under the theory that the
larger the demand the easier the con-
cession of smaller sum-thus one
claim filed last month with the comp
troller was for $4,000 and the form
of it follows:
Damages for personal injuries re-
ceived by the claimant while stand
ing on the corner of South and Gin
ton streets, in the borough of Man
| haitian
The personal injuries complained Of
were ascribed to the negligence of the
driver of cart in the street cleaning
department, the cart colliding with
| the claimant.
Another claim was for $10,OOO
Damages for personal injuries re-
sulting from fall on the sidewalk
at the intersection of Eighth avenue
and Thirty-frst street"
Another was for $4,000 sought by
a complainant for damages for "per-
sonal injuries received by claimant
while walking along Fulton street, in
the borough of Brooklyn" 1t was
commended that the injuries suffered
arose from the defective condition of
the sidewalk of Fulton street. Cou-
| pied with this claim, filed at the same
time, was another for $4,000 by the
| husband of the claimant, who de-
manded that sum from the city "as
| damage for the loss of services and
assistance of his wife due to the per-
sonal injuries suffered aforesaid
Another suit filed at almost the
same time was for $4,000 for injuries
suffered in falling down an unguarded
| embankment, and in winter time the
number of such damage suits is great
| er than during the summer in conse-
| quence of the accidents arising on
the sidewalks from which snow and
ice have not been removed. The city
accepts notice through the comp
| troller of all such suits impartially.
He takes usually no action upon them
until suit is brought and then the
matter comes up for settlement be-
| tween the representatives of the city
and counsel of the claimant. If an
agreement can be reached, usually
through large concession of the
amount claimed, judgment for such
| sum is entered by consent against the
| city. If, as is more frequently the
case, no such mutual agreement can
| be reached, the matter is brought be-
fore jury and its determination is a
record of judgment against the city
! if the complainant wins. That the
| city does not always lose is shown by
the fact that the costs collected by
| the corporation counsel's office, many
of them paid by claimants against the
| city, amount to about $4,000 a year.
They are turned into the city treas
ury.
Although the aggregate amount of
claims against the city is $4,000 900
on the average each year, the only
provision for the payment of such
claims is the appropriation for "judg-
ments." This appropriation for this
year is S25O,O00, so that the basis of
settlement with claimants is at the
| rate of about five cents on the dollar
five cents for every dollar claimed
| as damages.