State Not Liable for Vicious Assault by Guards on Inmate: Rivera v State of New York, 2019 NY Slip Op 08521 (Court of Appeals, NY) (Decided on November 25, 2019).

* New York's top court has ruled that the State of New York cannot be held vicariously liable for a savage beating administered to a prison inmate by three guards, because the nature of the attack was outside the scope of their employment.

In January 2010, Rivera was an inmate at a State prison. One morning when claimant entered the prison mess hall, correction officer Michael Wehby mocked his medically-issued protective helmet, which he was required to wear due to a seizure disorder. Rivera asked Wehby not to make fun of his helmet, fearing harassment by other inmates, and walked towards the food serving line. Wehby called Rivera back to the doorway of the mess hall. When Rivera obliged, Wehby grabbed Rivera's jacket, pulled him outside the mess hall and began punching him on the face and head. Rivera was forced to his knees while Wehby hit and stomped on him, at which point two other correction officers--Officer Robert Femia and Sergeant Joseph LaTour--pushed claimant down and applied handcuffs. Wehby removed Rivera's helmet and continued the assault, yelling expletives and saying, in substance, "I hope you die." While immobilized on the floor, Rivera was punched, kneed and kicked in the head. At this juncture, Wehby struck Rivera in the head with his radio with such force that the battery became dislodged and hit the wall. Eventually, Rivera lost consciousness. During the "prolonged, brutal attack, claimant did not resist or fight back, sustaining serious injuries." When Rivera was eventually brought to the facility emergency room, medical staff were falsely told that his injuries were the result of a seizure. No mention was made that force had been used on him.

Soon after the incident, the DOCCS Inspector General's Office conducted an investigation. All three corrections officers were cited for providing false or misleading statements to the Inspector General; Wehby and LaTour were found to have engaged in the inappropriate use of force. Wehby was subsequently criminally prosecuted for the assault and pleaded guilty to official misconduct. All three correction officers lost their jobs.

The Court of Claims denied Rivera's motion for summary judgment and granted the State's cross motion for summary judgment, holding that Wehby's attack was, as a matter of law, outside the scope of employment. The court determined that, based on the undisputed facts, there was "no reasonable connection" between the assault and the duties normally performed...