It is well-settled that municipalities are immune from tort liability when their employees perform discretionary acts involving the exercise of reasoned judgment.  However, the New York Court of Appeals today again addressed the narrow exception to that well-settled rule in the consolidated appeals of Kovit v. Estate of Katherine Hallums and Lazan v. County of Suffolk.  In both appeals, the Court determined that a special relationship did not exist, but based on different deficiences as to the special relationship analysis.

This decision is an excellent one for a review of municipal liability, and so is the Court’s relatively recent decision in Pelaez v. Seide.