Case Involving the General Obligations Law Section 9-103

In Chapman v. State of New York (Ct Cl, Mar. 19, 2001, Corbett, J., Claim No. 97828, Motion Nos. M-61413, M-61575), there was considerable evidence--derived from affidavits, several depositions, and canal maintenance records--presented for the court's consideration, and that evidence established that the bicycle path in question was paved, that maps and brochures were made available to members of the public to encourage recreational use of the area, and, perhaps most significantly, that employees of the Canal Corporation routinely monitored and maintained the pathway to prevent precisely the sort of hazard that caused that claimant's injury. As Judge Corbett sagely noted, in light of the need to balance public safety against the goal of General Obligations Law 9-103, the situation presented in Chapman represented a "close case" and any ruling with respect to that one specific segment of the canal system's towpath area "need not be extended to encompass the entire 25,000 acres of canal lands."