As far as Justice Paul Wooten of New York City is concerned, Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn can be sued, even if they were four years old at the time of their vehicular recklessness. Both children were racing their bicycles, complete with training wheels, down a Manhattan sidewalk in April 2009 when they collided with 87-year-old Claire Menagh. The senior citizen suffered a hip fracture that required surgery; she died of unrelated causes three months later. Her estate now wants to sue the children and their parents, and Wooten has given the green light for the lawsuit, after citing cases going back to 1928 to justify the ruling.

 

One 1977 case cited by Wooten is Yun Jeong Koo v. Carlton St. Bernard, in which Judge Harold Hyman of the New York Supreme Court wrote that, “in this modern day of enlightenment, children are prone to view television programs which, by voice and sight exemplification, point out to youngsters of very early age the necessity of their looking and listening to avoid danger or dangerous conditions. The attention of young children is brought to bear on many and diverse situations calling for their observation and care and their intelligence has noticeably grown with the times.”

- David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case (by Alan Feuer, New York Times)

Menagh v. Breitman (New York Supreme Court)