I think most Americans would be disgusted by what goes in the subterranean world of personal injury litigation in New York City, against the City itself and otherwise. (The ATL commenters are correct that there are so many cases filed against the City that they set up “city parts”, or judges to whom city cases are funneled.) The City is seen as a very easy target, and juries, especially in outer boroughs like Brooklyn and the Bronx, are likely to hit it with big verdicts. And yes, there is a racial angle to that, as documented by Jeff Toobin in a New Yorker article a few years ago.

The whole thing has very little to do with an epidemic of pedestrians tripping and falling, cuffs being put on too tight or NYPD cars rear-ending folks. It has to do with making money. Where’s Albany in all this? Check out Walter’s writing on who runs that show: plaintiff’s personal injury attorneys, naturally, like Helene Weinstein.

Judge Battaglia’s potential lawsuit fits into the landscape very nicely.

The judge didn’t sue the janitor. The judge merely filed a Notice of Claim, which must be done within 90 days of an incident when the City is involved. That Notice gives info to the City that allows it to investigate. The law also, unfortunately, requires you to place a number in the Notice even though it is unlikely a potential litigant will know what their actual damages are. That’s a crappy law, but it must be followed.

If and when a suit is filed, it is unlikely the janitor would be named. And that would have been true even if the Daily News hadn’t run its hit piece.