Marcia M. Halpin v Town of Lancaster
Annotate this Case[*1] Marcia M. Halpin, Individually and as Parent and Natural Guardian of Samantha Halpin and Another, Infants, Appellant,
v
Town of Lancaster, Respondent.
Decided September 14, 2006
Halpin v Town of Lancaster, 24 AD3d 1176, affirmed.
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Magavern, Magavern & Grimm, L.L.P., Buffalo (Aven Rennie of counsel), for appellant.
Cohen & Lombardo, P.C., Buffalo (Christopher M. Duggan of counsel), for respondent.
OPINION OF THE COURT
Memorandum.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs, and the certified question answered in the affirmative. The courts below properly concluded that plaintiff [*2]failed to state causes of action for breach of a special duty and breach of a duty voluntarily assumed. Absent proof of a special relationship, police, in dealing with domestic quarrels, "cannot be expected to predict and prevent irrational behavior" (Yearwood v Town of Brighton, 101 AD2d 498, 502 [4th Dept 1984] [op by Hancock, Jr., J.], affd for reasons stated below 64 NY2d 667 [1984]).
Chief Judge Kaye and Judges G.B. Smith, Ciparick, Rosenblatt, Graffeo, Read and R.S. Smith concur in memorandum.
On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.11), order affirmed, etc.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.