A city garbage truck backs into your car on Lafayette. A county plow clips you on Union Road. A pothole on Elmwood swallows your front tire and sends your bike into the curb. Each of these can lead to a claim against a government, and New York sets a short, strict path for those claims.
Who needs a notice of claim?
Under General Municipal Law 50-i, you can’t sue a city, county, town, village, fire district or school district for personal injury or property damage caused by its negligence, or by an employee’s, unless you first serve a notice of claim under General Municipal Law 50-e. Around Buffalo, that covers the City of Buffalo, Erie County, towns like Amherst, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda, villages like Williamsville and school districts. The NFTA has a similar requirement in its own statute. See our NFTA guide.
When is it due?
Within 90 days after the claim arises. For a crash, that’s usually the crash date. In a wrongful death case, the 90 days run from the appointment of the estate’s representative.
What does it have to say?
The notice must be in writing and sworn to before a notary. It must include these items.
- The name and post-office address of each claimant and their attorney, if any.
- The nature of the claim.
- The time when, the place where and the manner in which the claim arose.
- The items of damage or injuries claimed, as far as practicable.
Be precise about the place. “Elmwood Avenue” isn’t enough. “The northbound lane of Elmwood Avenue, about 40 feet south of the Bidwell Parkway crosswalk” is much better. Photos help.
Where does it go in Buffalo?
For the City of Buffalo, serve the Corporation Counsel at the Law Department, 65 Niagara Square, Room 1100 City Hall, Buffalo, NY 14202. The Law Department phone is (716) 851-4343. For other bodies, serve the person designated by law to receive a summons for that body, or its regular attorney. Service has to be by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Keep proof.
What happens next?
The government can demand a hearing under General Municipal Law 50-h, sometimes called a 50-h exam. It’s a sworn question-and-answer session about the crash and your injuries, taken down by a stenographer. You can bring a lawyer. If you don’t appear, you may lose the right to sue.
At least 30 days must pass after service before you can file suit, and the lawsuit must start within one year and 90 days of the crash. That’s far shorter than the usual three years.
What if you missed the 90 days?
You can ask the Supreme Court for permission to serve a late notice. The court considers whether the government learned the essential facts within 90 days or soon after, whether you had a reasonable excuse, and whether the delay hurt the government’s ability to investigate. The court can’t extend past the one year and 90 days. The state courts publish a short explainer on notices of claim.
What about potholes?
Many New York municipalities have local rules requiring prior written notice of a defect before they can be held liable for it. That means a separate question in a pothole case is whether such a rule applies and whether anyone reported that hole in writing before your crash. Lawyers often request complaint logs and 311 history to find out. Act fast, because roads get repaired and evidence disappears.
What about State roads?
The Kensington, the Scajaquada, the Skyway and most of the Thruway aren’t city roads. Claims against the State or the Thruway Authority go to the Court of Claims under different rules. See our Court of Claims guide.
The short version
- Serve a sworn notice of claim within 90 days.
- For the City of Buffalo, serve the Corporation Counsel at City Hall.
- Expect a 50-h hearing.
- Sue within one year and 90 days.
- Pothole cases may depend on prior written notice.
The other clocks that keep running during the 90 days
A 90-day notice of claim is only one deadline. An MV-104 can still be due within 10 days of an injury crash, and a no-fault claim is generally due within 30 days under the DFS filing FAQ. Sending a notice to City Hall does not file your no-fault application, and it does not buy a copy of the police report from the DMV.
If the crash also involved a Metro bus or rail car, Public Authorities Law § 1299-p has its own presentment rules and a suit deadline of one year and 90 days. Treat a city notice and an NFTA presentment as separate tasks when both might apply, and keep certified-mail receipts for each one.
If a cyclist was doored by a city or county vehicle, or a walker was struck in a crosswalk, include those facts in the notice. VTL § 1214 and VTL § 1146 are the dooring and due-care rules a later lawsuit may rely on, and a notice that only says “a motor vehicle accident” is harder to build on than one that describes the door, the crosswalk or the turning movement.
Keep a copy of the notice and the certified-mail receipt with the rest of the crash file, including the MV-104 and the no-fault application, so every clock can be checked from one folder.
Government claims are full of traps. If one may be involved, talk with a lawyer right away. You can browse attorneys around Buffalo.