Kircher v. City of Jamestown

74 N.Y.2d 251, 543 N.E.2d 443 (1989)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
K
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Kircher v. City of Jamestown

New York Court of Appeals
74 N.Y.2d 251, 543 N.E.2d 443 (1989)

Facts

Deborah Kircher (plaintiff) was abducted in a parking lot, forced into her car, and driven to another town, where her abductor raped and assaulted her, causing serious injuries. Two witnesses saw the abduction and heard Kircher scream for help. The witnesses followed Kircher’s car until losing sight of it and immediately gave a detailed report of the abduction to Bruce Carlson (defendant), a police officer. Carlson told the witnesses he would call in their report but then failed to do so. Believing that Carlson would keep his word, the witnesses did not continue their attempt to pursue Kircher’s car and they made no further police reports. Kircher sued both Carlson (defendant) and the City of Jamestown (defendant), arguing that Carlson had negligently failed to render her assistance and that Jamestown was vicariously liable for Carlson’s negligence. Carlson and Jamestown moved for summary judgment, arguing that Carlson did not have a duty to render Kircher assistance because she did not have a special relationship with Jamestown. The trial court denied the motion, and the appellate division reversed. The New York Court of Appeals granted leave to appeal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Alexander, J.)

Dissent (Bellacosa, J.)

Dissent (Hancock, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 820,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 989 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Jurisprudence

Key Terms