Thomas A. Montiglio was successful in obtaining a defense verdict in the case of J.A., infant v. East Meadow UFSD, Supreme Court, Nassau County 2010 Defense Verdict – Plaintiff, a 4th grade boy, fell off the picnic style cafeteria bench in the lunchroom. The plaintiff testified that another student came running over and jumped on the other end of the bench causing the table to buckle and the plaintiff to slide off the bench onto the floor. The plaintiff’s theory of liability was that the table was not properly locked in position and that the students were negligently supervised. The school aide who first responded to the plaintiff testified that the infant plaintiff admitted immediately after the accident that he fell because he was fooling around. The school nurse testified that while filling out the incident report the boy told her that he lost his balance and fell. The other student who allegedly jumped on the cafeteria bench testified that he never jumped on the bench and was on the lunch line when the accident happened. Another student that was sitting across from the plaintiff when he fell testified that the plaintiff fell because he was fooling around. The jury returned a verdict of no negligence on behalf of the School District.
