Riss v. City of New York

240 N.E.2d 860 (1968)

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

Riss v. City of New York

Court of Appeals of New York
240 N.E.2d 860 (1968)

  • Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Play video

Facts

Linda Riss (plaintiff) was terrorized by a stalker named Burton Pugach for more than six months. On multiple occasions, Pugach threatened to harm or kill Riss. Riss repeatedly sought help from the police department of the City of New York (defendant), but the police did not provide meaningful assistance. After Pugach told Riss that it was her “last chance,” Riss again asked the police for protection. Again, the police did not respond to her request for help. The next day, a person hired by Pugach threw lye in Riss’s face, blinding Riss in one eye, harming the vision in her other eye, and permanently scarring her. After the assault, the city began to provide protection for Riss. Riss sued the City of New York for failing to protect her from Pugach. The trial court dismissed the complaint after both sides had presented evidence at trial, but before the matter could be submitted to the jury. A divided appellate court affirmed the dismissal. Riss appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Breitel, J.)

Dissent (Keating, 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 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—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 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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 810,000 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 988 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

Torts

Key Terms