Hit During Strike
Fireman Can't Sue TWU for Injuries

By RICHARD STEIER

A Firefighter's claim that Transport Workers' Union Local 100 was legally liable for the serious injuries he suffered when hit by a private bus during last December's transit strike has been dismissed by a Queens Supreme Court Justice.

In granting the union's request that the case against it - which was part of a suit filed by Firefighter Matthew Long that will continue against the financial firm Bear, Stearns and Co. and the bus company it hired during the strike - be dismissed, Justice Joseph P. Dorsa ruled that Local 100 could not be held responsible for "the negligent acts of third parties."

Unsafe Driving

Firefighter Long last Dec. 22 was bicycling to his job when he was struck by a bus supplied to Bear, Stearns by the AME Transportation Corp. to get its employees to work during the strike. The accident occurred, according to the lawsuit, after the driver illegally crossed multiple lanes of traffic to make a right-hand turn at about 5:45 a.m.

The plaintiff contended that Local 100 was liable because, if it were not for the strike, he would have been traveling to work by mass transit and Bear, Stearns would not have had to retain the firm whose bus hit him. He noted that in striking, the union violated both the Taylor Law prohibiting public-employee walkouts and an order from Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones.

Justice Dorsa found, however, that there were several legal problems inherent in suing Local 100. Following the 1980 transit strike, he noted in his decision, two different law firms had sued Local 100 and two Amalgamated Transit Union locals that also participated. The state Court of Appeals ruled that the language of the Taylor Law provided only for the seeking of penalties by the government institutions that were the targets of the walkout, not a "private action" by other parties.

'Not Liable for 3rd Parties'

Examining the intent of the State Legislature regarding the Taylor Law as it applied to Mr. Long's case, Justice Dorsa stated, there was nothing to indicate that lawmakers "intended to protect individuals from the negligent acts of third parties, such as the traffic accident in this case."

He dismissed Mr. Long's claim that a "foreseeable consequence" of the strike was that the atmosphere created by the walkout, including tension and traffic congestion, had made it more likely that reckless conduct would occur. "There was no more reason to believe New Yorkers would behave unreasonably (i.e., crossing multiple lanes to make a right-hand turn), as behaving reasonably (i.e., driving more cautiously in increased traffic)," Justice Dorsa ruled.

He continued that to accept Firefighter Long's contention that the TWU by striking had created a dangerous condition that would not have otherwise existed and therefore led to his accident, it would have to be concluded that "every street in New York City would have constituted a place of danger, and any and every traffic accident [would be] the fault of the TWU Local 100."

Firefighter Long last month returned home after months of difficult rehabilitation, and has not yet been able to resume his duties with the FDNY.