Court Opinion

ID: 9571381
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:31:23.46151+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:30:23.026419
License: Public Domain

*31Fletcher, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the majority opinion that the City of Rome is entitled to summary judgment because there is no genuine issue of material fact concerning Patricia Jordan’s reliance on the police. I would go further than the majority, however, and adopt the direct contact requirement as a necessary element in determining whether a special relationship exists between a municipality and an injured party. This additional element requires, with limited exceptions, “some form of direct contact between the municipality’s agents and the injured party.” Cuffy v. City of New York, 69 NY2d 255 (505 NE2d 937, 940, 513 NYS2d 372) (1987). Although it is closely related to the reliance element, the two requirements are not synonymous. Imposing the additional requirement of direct contact would rationally limit the class of citizens to whom the municipality’s special duty extends. See id.