Riviello v. Waldron
Court of Appeals of the State of New York
391 N.E.2d 1278 (1979)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Joseph Waldron (codefendant) worked for the Pot Belly Pub, a bar operated by Raybele Tavern, Inc. (codefendant). Raybele hired Waldron to prepare and serve food because he was popular and drew many patrons to the bar. Joseph Riviello (plaintiff) frequented the bar and knew Waldron. Waldron stopped to talk to Riviello and another patron and showed them a pocketknife. Waldron left to deliver a food order and was flipping the knife in his hand when he returned. Riviello turned suddenly, and the knife blade inadvertently hit his eye, blinding it. Riviello sued Waldron for negligence and Raybele for vicarious liability as his employer. The jury found Waldron negligent and awarded Riviello $200,000 in damages, and Waldron’s insurer paid $25,000 in exchange for releasing Waldron. But the appellate court found Raybele not vicariously liable, reasoning that Waldron was acting outside the scope of his employment when the accident happened. Riviello appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fuchsberg, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 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.
