No civil action shall be maintained against the Town and/or
the Town Highway Superintendent, or against any improvement district
in the Town, for damages or injuries to persons or property sustained
by reason of any highway, bridge or culvert being defective, out of
repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed unless written notice of such
defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition of such highway,
bridge or culvert was actually given to the Town Clerk or the Town
Highway Superintendent, and that there was a failure or neglect within
a reasonable time after the giving of such notice to repair or remove
the defect, danger or obstruction complained of; and no such action
shall be maintained for damages or injuries to persons or property
sustained solely in consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon
any highway, bridge or culvert in the Town unless written notice thereof,
specifying the particular place, was actually given to the Town Clerk
or the Town Highway Superintendent and there was a failure or neglect
to cause such snow or ice to be removed or to make the place otherwise
reasonably safe within a reasonable time after the receipt of such
notice.
No civil action will be maintained against the Town and/or the
Town Highway Superintendent for damages or injuries to persons or
property sustained by reason of any defect in the sidewalks of the
Town or in consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon any of
its sidewalks, unless such sidewalks have been constructed or are
maintained by the Town or the Town Highway Superintendent pursuant
to statute, nor shall any action be maintained for damages or injuries
to persons or property sustained by reason of such defect or in consequence
of such existence of snow or ice unless written notice thereof, specifying
the particular place, was actually given to the Town Clerk or to the
Town Highway Superintendent and there was a failure or neglect to
cause such defect to be remedied, such snow or ice to be removed,
or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable
time after the receipt of such notice.
No civil action will be maintained against the Town and/or the
Town Highway Superintendent for damages or injuries to persons or
property sustained by reason of any defect in the parking spaces and/or
parking lots of the Town or in consequence of the existence of snow
or ice upon any of its parking spaces and/or parking lots, unless
such spaces and/or lots have been constructed or are maintained by
the Town or the Town Highway Superintendent pursuant to statute, nor
shall any action be maintained for damages or injuries to persons
or property sustained by reason of such defect or in consequence of
such existence of snow or ice unless written notice thereof, specifying
the particular place, was actually given to the Town Clerk or to the
Town Highway Superintendent and there was a failure or neglect to
cause such defect to be remedied, such snow or ice to be removed,
or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable
time after the receipt of such notice.
The Town Highway Superintendent shall transmit, in writing,
to the Town Clerk within 10 business days after receipt thereof, all
written notices received by him or her pursuant to this chapter, and
he or she shall take any and all corrective action with respect thereto
as soon as possible.
The Town Clerk shall keep an index record, in a separate book,
of all written notices which he or she shall receive of the highways
and private roads existence of a defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed
condition in or upon, or of an accumulation of ice and snow upon,
any Town highway, bridge, culvert or a sidewalk, or any other property
owned by the Town or by any improvement district, which record shall
state the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location
of the condition stated to exist and the name and address of the person
from whom the notice is received. The record of such notice shall
be retained for a minimum length of time that is prescribed within
the Record Retention and Disposition Schedule (MU-1) of New York State.
The Town Clerk, upon receipt of such written notice, shall immediately
and in writing notify the Town Highway Superintendent of the receipt
of such notice.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal, modify
or waive any existing requirement or statute of limitations which
is applicable to these causes of actions but, on the contrary, shall
be held to be additional requirements to the right to maintain such
action, nor shall anything herein contained be held to modify any
existing rule of law relative to the question of contributory negligence,
nor to impose upon the Town, its officers and employees and/or any
of its improvement districts any greater duty or obligations than
that it shall keep its highways, sidewalks and public places in a
reasonably safe condition for public use and travel.
This section shall not apply to actions upon claims for damage
or compensation for property taken by condemnation for any public
purpose.
The Town Clerk shall transmit a copy of every notice received
by him or her pursuant to this article to the Town Attorney or to
the Attorney for the Town and Town Highway Superintendent, if the
Town Highway Superintendent was not the source of such notice.