In Murphy v. Fairport Central School District , Claudia Murphy filed suit with the Monroe County Supreme Court, seeking damages for injuries her son sustained while using a weight machine in a school's fitness center.
On the date in question, Michael Ierlan, the physical education teacher, alternated between one group of students using machines in the fitness center and another group using free weights in the gym. (Ierlan was not present when Murphy's son was injured.)
When the Supreme Court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss, an appeal to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, ensued.
The AD4 concluded that the evidence raised questions -- or "triable issues of fact" -- as to whether the students had been adequately supervised or negligence had caused the injuries sustained by Murphy's son. The Justices of the AD4 wouldn't allow the argument -- that the accident occurred in such a short time span that even the most intense supervision wouldn't have prevented injury -- to weigh them down.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Murphy v. Fairport Central School District