Record $275 Million Spent By City for Court Awards
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New York City paid a record $275 million to settle lawsuits and other claims for the 1994 fiscal year, according to a report released yesterday by City Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi. The report attributed the total in part to a program started by state courts to clear some of the cases against the city that had lingered for years. The program closed about 750 backlogged cases, costing the city about $43 million. Last year, the city paid $247 million in claims. There were also a record 30,862 claims filed against city agencies in the last fiscal year, which ended on June 30. The increase was spurred largely by an especially severe winter of 1993-94, which resulted in more personal-injury and property damage claims involving accidents on slippery roads and icy sidewalks. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has made holding down legal costs a priority of his administration, particularly because of the city’s budget problems. For the last two years, he has unsuccessfully pressed the State Legislature to enact a package of proposals that would limit awards for pain and suffering to no more than $250,000 and that would put such cases in the hands of judges rather than juries. New York juries have a reputation for awarding large judgments against the city. The Mayor has estimated that enacting such laws could save the city as much as $45 million a year. But personal-injury lawyers, who would receive less money if awards went down, have lobbied vigorously against such legislation. Consumer protection groups also have complained that the city should not try to balance its budget at the expense of people who have been injured because of municipal negligence. Lawrence S. Kahn, the city’s chief litigator, said the Mayor plans to reintroduce his proposed tort reform legislation next month. More : query.nytimes.com |