Casale v Liverpool Cent. Sch. Dist.
2012 NY Slip Op 06710 [99 AD3d 1246]
October 5, 2012
Appellate Division, Fourth Department
As corrected through Wednesday, November 28, 2012


Karen Casale, as Parent and Natural Guardian of Stephanie Casale,an Infant, Respondent, v Liverpool Central School District,Appellant.

[*1]Sugarman Law Firm, LLP, Syracuse (Jenna W. Klucsik of counsel), forrespondent-appellant.

Kuehner Law Firm, PLLC, Syracuse (Brian D. Roy of counsel), forclaimant-respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Onondaga County (Anthony J. Paris, J.), enteredJanuary 26, 2012. The order granted the application of claimant for leave to serve a late notice ofclaim.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.

Memorandum: Contrary to respondent's contention, Supreme Court did not abuse itsdiscretion in granting claimant's application for leave to serve a late notice of claim pursuant toGeneral Municipal Law § 50-e (5). Although a court may properly consider whether aclaimant provided a reasonable excuse for failing to serve a timely notice of claim (see Parton v Onondaga County, 81AD3d 1433, 1433-1434 [2011]), a claimant's failure to tender a reasonable excuse "is notfatal where . . . actual notice was had and there is no compelling showing ofprejudice to [respondent]" (Matter ofHall v Madison-Oneida County Bd. of Coop. Educ. Servs., 66 AD3d 1434, 1435 [2009][internal quotation marks omitted]; seeHale v Webster Cent. School Dist., 12 AD3d 1052, 1053 [2004]). Here, claimant "madea persuasive showing that [respondent] 'acquired actual knowledge of the essential factsconstituting the claim' . . . [and respondent has] made no particularized orpersuasive showing that the delay caused [it] substantial prejudice" (Wetzel Servs. Corp. vTown of Amherst, 207 AD2d 965, 965 [1994]; see § 50-e [5]).Present—Fahey, J.P., Peradotto, Carni and Sconiers, JJ.


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