Lawman's assurance that woman's ex wasn't dangerous created no special duty to her, court rules
Although a New York state trooper allegedly reassured Jessica Kasten last year that her former live-in boyfriend Michael Skiadas (a mutual friend of theirs) didn’t pose a danger, the statement didn’t create a special duty establishing government liability when Skiadas killed Kasten’s new boyfriend, a court has ruled.
Because six weeks elapsed between the claimed reassurance by trooper Joseph Janssen and the murder-suicide committed by Skiadas, Kasten could not “relax her vigilance indefinitely” and justifiably rely on Janssen’s assessment of the situation, said Court of Claims Judge Gina Lopez-Summa in an October written opinion.
The judge found also no basis for state liability to the parents of fatal shooting victim Frank Panebianco, who was killed as he and Kasten exited a Port Jefferson restaurant in November 2014. That’s because Janssen had no direct contact with the parents, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
Kasten sought advice from Janssen, who was a friend of hers as well as a friend of Skiadas, after Skiadas threatened her, the lawsuit says. She alleges that the trooper discouraged her from complaining to authorities or seeking a restraining order, saying that he doubted Skiadas would hurt anyone.
