Scannapieco v. City of New York9/30/2002
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.
(*1)
Argued - November 8, 2001
OPINION & ORDER
APPEAL by the defendant, as limited by its brief, in an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., from so much of (1) an order of the Supreme Court (Marsha L. Steinhardt, J.), dated March 27, 2000, and entered in Kings County, as granted that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was to direct it to make immediate payment of all past due annuity payments, and (2) an amended judgment of the same court, entered April 25, 2000, as directed the immediate lump sum payment of past due annuity benefits from the date of verdict until the entry of judgment.
The issue on this appeal is one of first impression for this court - whether a trial court is authorized to direct a defendant in a personal injury action to make an acclerated lump-sum payment of annuity benefits for future damages for the period of time from the date of the verdict through the entry of judgment. For the reasons stated herein, we conclude that annuity payments are to commence from the date of the verdict, and that where there is a significant delay between the date of the verdict and the entry of judgment, a trial court is authorized to direct an acclerated lump sum payment of annuity benefits for future damages for the period from the date of verdict until the entry of judgment.
The plaintiffs commenced this action against the City of New York (hereinafter the City), inter alia, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff Douglas Scannapieco (hereinafter the plaintiff Scannapieco) during the course of his employment as a steamfitter with the Board of Education of the City of New York.
A trial was commenced in Supreme Court, Kings County, in April 1997, and a verdict on the issue of liability was entered in favor of the plaintiffs on April 25, 1997. Thereafter, a trial was held on the issue of damages, and on May 2, 1997, the jury returned a verdict which awarded the plaintiff Scannapieco $21,290 for past medical expenses, $100,000 for lost earnings, and $370,000 for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, totaling $491,290 in past damages, as well as $2,570,000 for future damages. The jury also awarded the plaintiff Kathy Scannapieco (hereinafter the plaintiff spouse) $60,000 for past loss of services and $365,000 for future loss of services. On July 9, 1998, the Supreme Court entered a structured judgment (hereinafter the 1998 judgment) in favor of the plaintiffs which provided, inter alia, that the City purchase an annuity contract with respect to the payment of remaining future damages in excess of $250,000.
The City appealed from the 1998 judgment (hereinafter the 1999 appeal), arguing that the jury award of damages was excessive, and that the trial court erred in the manner in which it structured that judgment. On appeal, this court issued a decision and order, dated December 20, 1999, which modified the 1998 judgment and ordered a new trial as to damages unless the plaintiffs agreed to reduce the verdict as follows: to the sum of $300,000 (from $850,000) for future pain and suffering; to the sum of $1,000,000 (from $1,700,000) for future lost earnings for the plaintiff Scannapieco; to the sum of $5,000 (from $60,000) for the plaintiff spouse's past loss of services; and to the sum of $25,000 (from $365,000) for her future loss of services (see Scannapieco v. City of New York, 267 AD2d 373). This court also held that the trial court properly structured the 1998 judgment (see Scannapieco v. City of New York, supra). Further, this court remitted the ma
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