By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A Manhattan judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against a four-year-old Midtown East girl accused of "negligent" operation of her bicycle, resulting in severe injury to an elderly woman.
"Defendant-movant correctly notes that infants under the age of four are conclusively presumed incapable of negligence," Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten wrote in his Oct. 1 decision. "Juliet Breitman, however, was over the age of four at the time of the subject incident."
The circumstances of the unusual court case began in April of last year, when Breitman and another four-year-old, Jacob Kohn, were allegedly racing their bicycles on a sidewalk near their East 52nd Street homes, according to the complaint. As the children rode, under the supervision of their mothers Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, they struck an 87-year-old pedestrian, the complaint said.
The pedestrian, Claire Menagh, suffered severe injuries and died after surgery a few weeks later, according to court documents.
Now, the woman's estate is suing the children and their mothers, claiming the "defendants were negligent in the operation and control of their bicycles."
Lawyers for the Breitmans asked the judge to dismiss the charges against her, arguing that a child her age was incapable of negligence. But Judge Wooten denied the motion, and said the relevant precedent only applied to children younger than four. He could not dismiss the case because Breitman was four years and nine months old at the time of the incident.
As such, the judge ordered the children and their mothers to appear for a preliminary conference in December.
