2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 4 - Negligence and Malfeasance of Public Officers; Taxpayers' Remedies › 50-K - Civil Actions Against Employees of the City of New York.

§  50-k.  Civil actions against employees of the city of New York.  1.
  As used in this section:
a. "Agency" shall mean a  city,  county,  borough,  or  other  office,
  position,  administration, council, department, division, bureau, board,
  community board, commission, institution or agency  of  government,  the
  expenses  of  which are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury,
  but shall not include, unless otherwise  provided  by  law,  any  public
  authority, public benefit corporation or board of education.
b. "City" shall mean the city of New York.
c. "Comptroller" shall mean the comptroller of the city.
d.  "Corporation  Council"  shall  mean the corporation council of the
  city.
e. "Employee" shall mean any person holding a  position  by  election,
  appointment  or  employment in the service of any agency, whether or not
  compensated, or a volunteer expressly authorized  to  participate  in  a
  city  sponsored  volunteer program, but shall not include an independent
  contractor. The term employee  shall  include  a  former  employee,  his
  estate or judicially appointed personal representative.
2.  At the request of the employee and upon compliance by the employee
  with the provisions of subdivision four of this section, the city  shall
  provide for the defense of an employee of any agency in any civil action
  or  proceeding  in  any  state  or federal court including actions under
  sections  nineteen   hundred   eighty-one   through   nineteen   hundred
  eighty-eight of title forty-two of the United States code arising out of
  any alleged act or omission which the corporation counsel finds occurred
  while  the employee was acting within the scope of his public employment
  and in the discharge of his duties and was not in violation of any  rule
  or  regulation  of  his  agency  at the time the alleged act or omission
  occurred. This duty to provide for a defense shall not arise where  such
  civil  action  or  proceeding  is brought by or on behalf of the city or
  state or an agency of either.
3. The city shall indemnify and save harmless  its  employees  in  the
  amount  of  any judgment obtained against such employees in any state or
  federal court, or in the amount of any settlement of a claim approved by
  the corporation counsel and the comptroller, provided that  the  act  or
  omission from which such judgment or settlement arose occurred while the
  employee was acting within the scope of his public employment and in the
  discharge  of  his  duties  and  was  not  in  violation  of any rule or
  regulation of his agency at the time the alleged damages were sustained;
  the duty to indemnify and save harmless prescribed by  this  subdivision
  shall  not  arise  where  the injury or damage resulted from intentional
  wrongdoing or recklessness on the part of the employee.
4. The duty to defend or indemnify and  save  harmless  prescribed  by
  this  section  shall be conditioned upon (a) delivery to the corporation
  counsel at the office of the law department of the city by the  employee
  of  the  original  or a copy of any summons, complaint, process, notice,
  demand or pleading  within  ten  days  after  he  is  served  with  such
  document, and (b) the full cooperation of the employee in the defense of
  such  action  or  proceeding  and in defense of any action or proceeding
  against the city based upon  the  same  act  or  omission,  and  in  the
  prosecution  of  any appeal.  Such delivery shall be deemed a request by
  the employee that the city provide for  his  defense  pursuant  to  this
  section.  In  the  event  that  the  corporation counsel shall assume an
  employee's defense and thereafter the employee fails to  or  refuses  to
  cooperate  in  the  formation  or presentation of his defense, the court
  shall permit the corporation counsel to withdraw his representation  ten
  days  after  giving  written  notice to the employee of his intention to
  discontinue such representation.
5. In the event  that  the  act  or  omission  upon  which  the  court
  proceeding  against  the employee is based was or is also the basis of a
  disciplinary proceeding by the employee's agency against  the  employee,
  representation  by  the  corporation  counsel and indemnification by the
  city  may  be  withheld  (a) until such disciplinary proceeding has been
  resolved and (b) unless the resolution of  the  disciplinary  proceeding
  exonerated the employee as to such act or omission.
6.  Every  action  or  proceeding  instituted  hereunder, including an
  action brought to enforce  a  provision  of  sections  nineteen  hundred
  eighty-one  through  nineteen hundred eighty-eight of title forty-two of
  the United States code, shall be commenced pursuant to the provisions of
  section fifty-i of this chapter and within one year and ninety days.  No
  action  or  proceeding  instituted  hereunder, other than one instituted
  pursuant  to  sections  nineteen  hundred  eighty-one  through  nineteen
  hundred  eighty-eight of title forty-two of the United States code shall
  be prosecuted or maintained  against  the  city  or  any  agency  or  an
  employee unless notice of claim shall have been made and served upon the
  city  in  compliance  with  section  fifty-e  of this chapter and within
  ninety days after the claim arises.
7. The provisions of this section shall not be  construed  to  impair,
  alter,  limit  or modify the rights and obligations of any insurer under
  any policy of insurance.
8. The provisions of this section  shall  apply  to  all  actions  and
  proceedings  pending  upon  the  effective  date  thereof  or thereafter
  instituted, except that the provisions of subdivision  six  shall  apply
  only  to  actions  and  proceedings instituted on or after the effective
  date of this section.
9. The provisions of this section shall not be construed in any way to
  impair, alter, limit, modify,  or  abrogate  or  restrict  any  immunity
  available  to or conferred upon any unit, entity, officer or employee of
  the city or any agency or any other level of government, or any right to
  defense and/or indemnification provided for any governmental officer  or
  employee by, in accordance with, or by reason of, any other provision of
  state, federal or local law or common law.