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Stratakis v. Ferncliff Manor Home

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Sep 25, 2003
308 A.D.2d 397 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)

Summary

denying summary judgment where the "strained relationship" and "verbal confrontations" between plaintiff and defendant suggested that defendant's report may have been retaliatory

Summary of this case from Thomsen v. Kefalas

Opinion

1636

September 25, 2003.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Jerry Crispino, J.), entered on or about July 8, 2002, which denied defendant's motion for summary judgment, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Kevin D. Porter, for plaintiff-respondent.

Silvia C. Souto, for defendant-appellant

Before: Saxe, J.P., Rosenberger, Williams, Lerner, Friedman, JJ.


The motion court properly concluded that there are factual issues as to whether defendant's employees acted in good faith in making reports of sexual abuse against plaintiff so as to be entitled to the statutory immunity provided by Social Services Law § 419. Plaintiff's allegation that defendant's employees were motivated to file baseless charges against him in retaliation for his numerous and vociferous complaints respecting the care they provided his institutionalized daughter is based on more than mere surmise or speculation (cf. Kubik v. New York State Dept. of Social Servs., 244 A.D.2d 606; Van Emrik v. Chemung County Dept. of Social Servs., 220 A.D.2d 952, 953, lv dismissed 88 N.Y.2d 874). It is uncontroverted that there were verbal confrontations between plaintiff and the staff at defendant's facility and the record documents the strained relationship between plaintiff and the staff. The record raises credibility issues that are properly reserved for the trier of fact.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.


Summaries of

Stratakis v. Ferncliff Manor Home

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Sep 25, 2003
308 A.D.2d 397 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)

denying summary judgment where the "strained relationship" and "verbal confrontations" between plaintiff and defendant suggested that defendant's report may have been retaliatory

Summary of this case from Thomsen v. Kefalas
Case details for

Stratakis v. Ferncliff Manor Home

Case Details

Full title:EMANUEL STRATAKIS, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. FERNCLIFF MANOR HOME FOR THE…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Sep 25, 2003

Citations

308 A.D.2d 397 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)
764 N.Y.S.2d 431

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