10 Movie Scenes That Would Get You Sued in New York

New York doesn't sort visitors into "invited" and "trespasser" anymore. Since Basso v. Miller (1976), a case that began in Brooklyn's own Kings County court, property owners, from homeowners to landlords, owe everyone reasonable care under the circumstances.

Traps meant to seriously injure are off the table. In Katko v. Briney (Iowa, 1971), the owners of an empty farmhouse had to pay $30,000 to a burglar shot by their hidden spring gun.

Coney Island and Brighton Beach are City beaches. Suing the City means a different clock: a Notice of Claim within 90 days, then the lawsuit within a year and 90 days.

The same 90-day rule applies to pothole crashes and MTA bus accidents. Miss it and a strong case can be over before it starts.

From the Cyclone to the bumper cars, anyone running a venue owes visitors reasonably safe premises: maintained equipment, safety systems that work, and warnings about known dangers.

Opening to the public while you know your systems are shaky is textbook negligence. It's the same premises liability law behind most slip-and-fall cases in Brooklyn stores and apartment buildings, and it usually has a 3-year deadline.

New York's General Obligations Law § 5-326 voids waivers that try to excuse paid pools, gyms and places of amusement from their own negligence. In 2016, a Brooklyn court threw out the waiver a climber had signed at Brooklyn Boulders. Wonka's lawyer might argue the golden tickets were free.

For kids, the deadline to sue is generally paused until they turn 18. Claims against the City still start with a 90-day notice, though courts tend to be more forgiving with children.

Under New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50–51, using someone's name or likeness to advertise or sell without their written consent can cost you damages, and it's a misdemeanor too. Every product placement would be another piece of evidence.

Trapping someone and nearly drowning them is intentional harm, and New York gives only 1 year to sue for most of it.

Signing up for a study isn't signing up for unfair shocks. Harmful contact beyond what you agreed to is battery.

Because battery is intentional, the deadline is 1 year, not 3. Waiting out the semester is fine, but waiting out the year isn't.

You don't have to throw a punch to commit battery. Slipping something into someone's food or drink counts as harmful contact, and it can be a crime too.

The damages here are mostly embarrassment and one very long night, but the legal principle is real.

The claim is easy. Proving it is hard, because nobody remembers anything. That's funny in a movie and a real problem in court.

After any injury, whether it's a car accident on the Belt Parkway or a fall in a grocery store: take photos, see a doctor that day, get witnesses' names and keep every receipt. If you were hurt outside New York, talk to a lawyer early, because another state's rules may apply.

Flick chose to lick the pole, but that wouldn't end his case. New York uses pure comparative fault: your award shrinks by your share of the blame instead of disappearing.

The same rule applies to slip-and-falls on icy sidewalks, which happen far more often than flagpole incidents. Under NYC Admin. Code § 7-210, the owner of the building next to the sidewalk is usually responsible for keeping it safe. Owner-occupied one-to-three-family homes are the main exception.

The real Titanic was bound for New York. Survivors and families filed claims in federal court in Manhattan seeking about $16 million.

In 1916 they settled for about $664,000. Why so little? An 1851 law let shipowners limit what they owed. The lesson still applies today: insurance limits can shape a case as much as fault does, and they come up often in car accident claims.