Bierman v. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.

It being the mandate of the statute (CCA, § 1804) that the rules of substantive law are applicable to the Small Claims Court, the court below erred in departing from the traditional rules of negligence and in adopting a rule of strict liability without fault. Stability and certainty in the law require adherence to precedents by courts of original jurisdiction, and the decisions of the Court of Appeals must be followed by all lower courts (Brooks v. Horning, 27 A D 2d 874, 876 ; McGilfrey v. Hotaling, 26 A D 2d 977 ; Canter v. American Cyanamid Co., 12 A D 2d 691 ; Thomas v. Hendrickson Bros.,…