JULIUS ODEN, RESPONDENT, v. CHEMUNG COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, ET
AL., DEFENDANTS, v. STREETER ASSOCIATES, INC., THIRD-PARTY APPELLANT.
87 N.Y.2d 81, 661 N.E.2d 142, 637 N.Y.S.2d 670
November 30, 1995
3 No. 261 (1995 NY Int. 259)
Decided November 30, 1995
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This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
John H. Hanrahan, 3d, for third-party Appellant.
Alfred Paniccia, Jr., for Respondent.
TITONE, J.:
CPLR 4545(c) authorizes the court in a personal injury action to
reduce the amount of the plaintiff's award if it finds that any
element of the economic loss encompassed in the award was or will be
replaced, in whole or in part, from a collateral source. The issue
before us on this appeal is whether the economic loss portion of an
award should be reduced by the proceeds from any collateral source or
whether reduction is authorized only when the collateral source
payment represents reimbursement for a particular category of loss
that corresponds to a category of loss for which damages were awarded.
Based on both the language and the purposes of CPLR 4545(c), we now
adopt the latter narrower construction of the statute.
The present action arises out of a December 1988 incident in which
plaintiff, a 48-year-old ironworker, was injured when he was struck by
a falling steel column that was apparently dislodged by a small
hydraulic crane. Plaintiff sued the owner of the crane, the crane
operator, the contract agency that provided the crane operator and the
owner and lessee of the work site, alleging various Labor Law and
common-law causes of action. The defendants subsequently asserted
cross-claims against each other, as well as third-party claims against
Streeter Associates, plaintiff's employer.
Following a bifurcated jury trial, plaintiff was awarded damages as
follows: $5,752.75 for past medical expenses, $20,000 for pain and
suffering, $27,550 for lost past earnings, $66,000 for lost pension
benefits and $80,000 for future lost earning and health and welfare
benefits. The total was apportioned among the defendants, and all
defendants were granted judgment over against third-party defendant
SNIPPETS:
John H. Hanrahan, 3d, for third-party Appellant.
CPLR 4545authorizes the court in a personal injury action to reduce the amount of the
The issue before us on this appeal is whether the economic loss portion of an award should be
Based on both the language and the purposes of CPLR 4545, we now adopt the latter narrower
The present action arises out of a December 1988 incident in which plaintiff, a 48-year-old
Plaintiff sued the owner of the crane, the crane operator, the contract agency that provided
The defendants subsequently asserted cross-claims against each other, as well as third-party
Following a bifurcated jury trial, plaintiff was awarded damages as follows: $5,752.75 for
Following a hearing pursuant to CPLR 4545, the court ordered that the total award for future
On plaintiff's appeal,the Appellate Division modified by restoring the full amount of the
The court impliedly determined that only the award for lost pension benefits was sufficiently
of City of New York, 76 NY2d 379, 384; Healy v Rennert, 9 NY2d 202, 206).
Beginning in 1975, however, the Legislature initiated efforts to limit the rule's effect in
The first incursion on the rule's scope was an amendment to CPLR 4010 which permitted juries
In any action brought to recover for personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death,
such as insurance * * *, social security * * *, workers' compensation or employee benefit programs
Under the statute, "f the court finds that any such cost or expense was or will, with
plaintiff contends that the award for economic loss should be broken down into categories and
the rule appellant advances would confer an undeserved windfall on tort defendants and their
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