Davila ex rel. Estate of Bonilla v. State

Appeals (1) from an order of the Court of Claims (Fitzpatrick, J.), entered July 7, 2014, which, among other things, granted claimant’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability, and (2) from the judgment entered thereon.

On March 21, 2009, Gloria Bonilla (hereinafter decedent) suffered severe injuries in a fire, leading to her death, while residing at a home for mentally disabled individuals. The home was maintained and operated by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (hereinafter OMRDD),^[1] under the name Riverview Individualized Residential Alternative (hereinafter Riverview IRA). Claimant was appointed administrator of decedent’s estate in March 2011, and promptly thereafter filed a claim seeking damages for decedent’s conscious pain and suffering. Claimant moved for summary judgment and defendant cross-moved to dismiss the claim on the ground that claimant failed to sufficiently state the nature of the claim pursuant to Court of Claims Act § 11 (b). The Court of Claims denied defendant’s cross motion to dismiss and granted claimant’s motion for summary judgment. Defendant appeals, contending that the claim was jurisdictionally defective as the statutory requirements were not met.

Court of Claims Act § 11 (b) “places five specific substantive conditions upon [defendant’s] waiver of sovereign immunity by

Here, the claim alleges that defendant “negligently constructed, operated and maintained Riverview IRA” and that on March 21, 2009, “as a result of said negligence,” decedent “died[ ] while in the custody and care of [defendant].” The claim further alleges that, “[p]rior to her expiration, [decedent] suffered extreme pain and suffering.”

As relevant to the subject claim, decedent, described in her individualized service plan as “profoundly retarded,” was a resident of Riverview IRA when, on March 21, 2009, a fatal fire at the facility claimed the lives of four residents, including her life. OMRDD subsequently conducted an extensive investigation and, in January 2010, issued a comprehensive report.^[2] This report detailed a failure to follow the established fire drill protocol, which would have ensured decedent’s evacuation through the nearest exit. She was instead guided from her room and left in another part of the building, where she suffered grave injury in the fire and, ultimately, died en route to the hospital.