Hughes v. Farrey

In Hughes v. Farrey, 30 AD3d 244, 247, 817 N.Y.S.2d 25 (1st Dep't 2006), prior to the civil case, defendant was charged with attempted second-degree murder and lesser charges, as a result of stabbing his wife. He thereafter pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree. During the civil action, the plaintiff in Hughes moved for summary judgment on her battery cause of action, arguing that because of the defendant's plea in the criminal action, collateral estoppel applied in order to preclude the defendant from re-litigating the issues. Hughes, 30 AD3d at 245, 247. However, the First Department disagreed and stated, While defendant admitted to "stabbing" plaintiff, he did not state that he intentionally did so, but stated that he acted recklessly under circumstances evincing depraved indifference. The inference plaintiff seeks to draw, i.e., that defendant intentionally made contact without her consent and caused injury, is perhaps a reasonable one but collateral estoppel may not be applied because it is not the only inference that can be drawn. Based on the allocution alone, the trier of fact could find that defendant recklessly or unintentionally stabbed plaintiff. Id. at 247-48.