Pietras v. Gol Pak Corp.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Callahan, J.

Is a plaintiff who accepts payment from the State in satisfaction of a Court of Claims judgment precluded from proceeding with a pending action in the Supreme Court against a joint tort-feasor to recover punitive damages? Special Term answered this question in the affirmative and granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s amended complaint.

Plaintiff was employed as a truck driver by defendant Gol Pak Corporation, a subsidiary of defendant Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc., which operates a meat processing business in the City of Oneida. In…