§ 9801 Actions against the village

If you want to sue a village because you got hurt or your property was damaged, and you believe it happened because the village or one of its workers was careless or did something wrong, you have to follow specific steps first. Before you can even file a lawsuit, you must send the village an official notice of your claim. This notice has to follow the rules laid out in a different law, called General Municipal Law section 50-e. Skipping this step means you cannot bring your case to court at all.

Once you have properly filed that notice, you also have to start your actual lawsuit according to another law, General Municipal Law section 50-i. This law sets rules like how soon you must file suit and what your court papers need to include.

In short, this rule means you cannot just sue a village right away if you are hurt or your property is damaged because of something the village did wrong. You must first give the village formal notice of your claim, and then file your lawsuit the right way and within the right time limits. Missing either step can cause your case to be thrown out, no matter how strong your claim might be.