USCOA,2 No. 26
Neville Rangolan and Shirley Rangolan,
Respondents,
v.
The County of Nassau and Nassau County Sheriff's Department,
Appellants.
_________________________________________________________________
2001 NY Int. 33
March 29, 2001
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
James J. Keefe, Jr., for appellants.
Robert M. Ginsberg, for respondents.
City of New York; New York State Trial Lawyers Association, amici
curić.
_________________________________________________________________
CIPARICK, J.:
Under CPLR article 16, a defendant may apportion its liability for
noneconomic damages among other tortfeasors provided that it is 50% or
less at fault (CPLR 1601 (1)). The issue before us, as certified by
the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is whether
CPLR 1602 (2)(iv) precludes apportionment where a defendant's
liability arises from a breach of a non-delegable duty. We hold that
CPLR 1602 (2)(iv) is not an exception to apportionment under CPLR
article 16, but a savings provision that preserves the principles of
vicarious liability.
Plaintiff Neville Rangolan was incarcerated at the Nassau County
Correctional Center where he was seriously beaten by Steven King, a
fellow inmate. Rangolan had cooperated as a confidential informant
against King, and his inmate file cautioned that he was not to be
housed with King. A corrections officer, however, failed to notice the
warning and placed Rangolan and King in the same dormitory. Rangolan
and his wife commenced this action against defendant Nassau County in
Federal court, alleging, among other things, negligence for failure to
protect Rangolan and violation of his Eighth Amendment rights under
42 USC § 1983. The United States District Court dismissed
Rangolan's section 1983 claim, but granted his motion for judgment as
a matter of law on his negligence claim and ordered a trial on
damages. The District Court denied the County's request to instruct
SNIPPETS:
USCOA,2 No. 26 Neville Rangolan and Shirley Rangolan, Respondents, v.
The County of Nassau and Nassau County Sheriff's Department,
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
Under CPLR article 16, a defendant may apportion its liability for noneconomic damages among
The issue before us, as certified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second
We hold that CPLR 1602 is not an exception to apportionment under CPLR article 16, but a
Plaintiff Neville Rangolan was incarcerated at the Nassau County Correctional Center where he
The United States District Court dismissed Rangolan's section 1983 claim, but granted his
However, noting the absence of controlling precedent interpreting CPLR 1602, the Second
Prior to article 16's enactment, a joint tortfeasor could be held liable for the entire
CPLR 1602 provides that article 16 shall "not be construed to impair, alter, limit, modify,
It ensures that a defendant is liable to the same extent as its delegate or employee, and
CPLR 1602, however, does not contain this prefatory language, but instead provides that the
This language indicates that the Legislature did not intend 1602to establish a free-standing
Further, where, as here, the Legislature uses different terms in various parts of a statute,
To construe 1602as an exception to apportionment would defeat the legislative goal of
Following certification of a question by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second
from seeking apportionment.
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