Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority
Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority | |
---|---|
Court | New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division |
Full case name | Seong Sil Kim et al., Respondents, v. New York City Transit Authority, Appellant. |
Decided | March 23, 2006 |
Citation(s) | 27 A.D. 3d 332; 812 N.Y.S.2d 485 |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | David Friedman, Eugene L. Nardelli, Milton L. Williams, Luis A. Gonzalez, John Sweeny |
Case opinions | |
Concurrence | Friedman, Nardelli, Williams, Sweeny |
Dissent | Gonzales |
Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority is a lawsuit in which a woman who laid down on subway tracks in 2000 in an apparent
Context
On May 3, 2000, Seong Sil Kim lay down on the subway tracks just north of
Lawsuit
In the subsequent trial, it was revealed that a passenger called '
Through a translator, Kim claimed to have no memory of how she ended up on the tracks. However, she was 30 to 100 feet (10 to 30 m) north of the platform, so she could not have fallen there. She lay on the tracks in the tunnel for at least 24 minutes before her encounter with the train.[1] Kim had given birth two months before the event, and the city submitted evidence that she was suffering from postpartum depression.[3]
Kim initially won her lawsuit, and a sympathetic jury awarded her $14.1 million. However, the judge reduced the amount because the jury apportioned Kim with 30% responsibility for her own injury, leaving her with $9.9 million. Her lawyer, David Dean, of the law firm of Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, said, "How she got there was less important than the obligations of the operator. You still have an obligation to operate a train safely, and this guy just didn't."[3]
Following a post-trial motion, the damage award was further reduced to $5 million. Finally in 2006, a panel of appellate judges ruled 4–1 that there was legally insufficient evidence to support a finding of Transit Authority negligence or to establish which of several possible trains caused Kim's injuries. The trial judge was reversed, the jury verdict vacated, and the complaint dismissed.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority, 27 AD3d 332 (NY Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department 2006).
- ^ New York Law Journal, June 10, 2002.
- ^ a b Haberman, Clyde (June 25, 2002). "Win Big! Lie in Front Of a Train". The New York Times.
External links
- Text of Kim v. New York City Transit Authority, 27 A.D.3d 332, 812 N.Y.S.2d 485 (2006) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Leagle New York State Unified Court System