38 The Queens Courier • november 21, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Advertorial Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law THE GO AHEAD Q: Last fall, I rode my bicycle to the entrance of a street. Before starting some repairs, the City was in the process of setting up warning cones, to close off both lanes of the road to vehicular traffic. I asked the supervisor if I could ride through. “Go ahead,” he said. I did, and struck a large pothole. A: The courts have an old rule that government action, if discretionary, may not be a basis for tort liability. Even if you establish all the elements of a negligence claim, the City can avoid liability if it proves that saying ‘go ahead’ involved the exercise of discretionary authority and did not involve a special duty. Your lawyer would like to say that the supervisor’s failure to warn you, and his waving you into a place of danger, were integrally related to the pothole repair undertaken by the City as the owner of the road, and took place not in a truly governmental capacity. The City will reply that, at the time of your accident, the repair work had not begun. The supervisor was engaged in traffic control, which is a classic example of a governmental function undertaken for the protection and safety of the public pursuant to the general police powers. Thus, the City would be entitled to governmental-function immunity – because the specific act or omission that caused your injuries was the supervisor’s discretionary decision to allow you to proceed, and not the City’s proprietary function in maintaining the roadway. If I understand you correctly, when you encountered the supervisor, he was not at the entrance of the road to repair potholes; the repair was to take place later, and perhaps some distance away. Controlling traffic is a classic governmental function that brings with it governmental immunity. By all means, take these facts to an attorney, but don’t be surprised if he or she is concerned about governmental immunity. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel.This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Ave, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878 Grand Menorah Lighting Sunday, December 1 at 6:00 PM Chabad of Northeast Queens 212-12 26th Avenue in Bayside • Lighting of the Giant Menorah • Live Music & Dancing • Sizzling Potato Latkes • Edible Chanukah Gelt • Grand Raffle • World Famous Entertainer Rain or Shine For more information, please call 718•279•1457 or email [email protected] or check out our website at www.chabadnequeens.com Sponsored by Team SPS the Schwartz Family. Obtain a FaSt DiVORCE in aS littlE aS 24 HOURS WE aRE HERE tO HElP! Visit us online or Call now! SERVinG tHE COMMUnitY FOR OVER 50 YEaRS! A leader in the fast divorce business has been Divorcefast.com of Massachusetts, a company that has been providing speedy, low-cost foreign divorces for 50 years. The company provides divorces that can be completed in as little as one day in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the U.S. offshore island of Guam. According to Alan Alford, proprietor of Divorcefast.com, some of the divorces offered require travel to the court, while some can be done without any travel or court appearance. Some require both parties to sign the court petition for divorce, while others can be achieved with only one party signing. All of the divorces happen very quickly and with a minimal amount of paperwork. The divorces are valid and recognized everywhere, and Alford reports that he processes several thousand of them every year, particularly for New Yorkers. The total cost for fast divorces starts at $995, raising the price to as high as $1,500. All of the divorces, Alford says, are completed within a few days and the clients are then free to remarry or otherwise continue with their lives as single persons. Anyone interested in more details about the Divorcefast offerings can access the company web site at www.divorcefast.com. The forms and instructions can be printed out from there and submitted to the company. For those lacking Internet access, Alford and his staff are prepared to discuss foreign divorces on the phone, at 978-443-8387, or by mail directed to Divorcefast.com, 365 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776.. THE PROCESS IS QUICK, EASY, LEGAL & AFFORDABLE 978.443.8387 WWW.DIVORCEFAST.COM
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