4-Year-Old Able To Be Sued, NY Judge Rules

[Psychonomaly]

Toddlers Racing Bikes On Sidewalk Struck An Old Woman, Who Later Died, And Now May Be Held Accountable For Their Negligence

(CBS)  A "bright line" has been drawn for future negligence cases by New York State Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten, who ruled this week that 4-year-olds approaching their fifth birthday are not "presumed incapable of negligence," The New York Times reports.

Justice Wooten was referring in this case to Juliet Breitman, who had been racing her training-wheel-laden bike against fellow toddler Jacob Kohn on East 52nd Street in Manhattan two years ago when they struck 87-year-old Claire Menagh. The elderly woman suffered a hip fracture and died three weeks later.

Ms. Menagh's estate sued the children and their parents, who had been supervising the kids at the time of the accident, claiming negligence on everyone's behalf. Breitman and her mother's lawyer, James P. Tyrie, sought to dismiss the suit against the toddler by arguing that the girl was not "engaged in an adult activity" at the time of the accident - "She was riding her bicycle with training wheels under the supervision of her mother" - and was too young to be held liable for negligence, the Times reports. Kohn and his mother did not seek to dismiss the suit.

Tyrie argued that the precedent had been set by previous courts who have held that "an infant under the age of 4 is conclusively presumed to be incapable of negligence."

Justice Wooten, however, ultimately disagreed with Tyrie's arguments, noting that Breitman was three months shy of her fifth birthday at the time of the accident. The Gothamist reports that Justice Wooten's ruling stated: "A parent's presence alone does not give a reasonable child carte blanche to engage in risky behavior such as running across the street. A reasonably prudent child, whom we may presume has been told repeatedly by the age of four to look both ways before crossing a street, knows that running across a street is dangerous even if there is a parent nearby." And furthermore, the defense failed to prove any "lack of intelligence or maturity" or anything to "indicate that another child of similar age and capacity under the circumstances could not have reasonably appreciated the danger of riding a bicycle into an elderly woman."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/29/national/main7003546.shtml

[Chairman Risus]

So, what do you win once you've successfully sued a 4 year old?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So, what do you win once you've successfully sued a 4 year old?

You get to take all their cookies and toys.

[Iason Ouabache]

So, what do you win once you've successfully sued a 4 year old?

Everything that the parents own. This is bullshit, btw. If a kid can't legally sign a contract (let alone her own name) then they should not be held liable for negligence.

[Telarus]

I agree. You have to prove negligence on the part of the parent. WTF is wrong with our legal system.

[Psychonomaly]

They're gonna repossess his trike.

[Doktor Howl]

So, what do you win once you've successfully sued a 4 year old?

A retarded, litigious society.

[Tempest Virago]

This is the stupidest thing I have heard today, and considering it's almost 8pm, that's a lot of day where I could have heard something stupider. Impressive!

[Jasper]

4 years.  The time it takes for a newborn to kill a senior citizen.  Guinness experts and legal system baffled.

[Doktor Howl]

4 years.  The time it takes for a newborn to kill a senior citizen.  Guinness experts and legal system baffled.

Well, in the spirit of this election season, I hope the old lady apologized before she died.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

4 years.  The time it takes for a newborn to kill a senior citizen.  Guinness experts and legal system baffled.

Well, in the spirit of this election season, I hope the old lady apologized before she died.

[Cain]

That old lady was probably claiming social security.  The unproductive leech had it coming.

[Kai]

So, does this suddenly make pedophilia okay? Because if children don't have any "lack of intelligence or maturity" then they might as well be adults. 

[Cramulus]

I just can't wait to be sued by a 4-year old

[Triple Zero]

I just can't wait to be sued by a 4-year old

I hear it's as easy as taking candy from a baby!