Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Re: DUI/DWI and municipality liability

No. This type of criminal act is considered to be intentional on the part of the criminal, and breaks any causal chain between the municioality and the injury which is required for tort liability.

Re: DUI/DWI and municipality liability

Generally, a State or municipality's limited wavier of tort liability does not extended to negligent licensing or inspection. The issue you have described has often been raised in litigation, however, case law has long held that such suits are subject to dismissal based on sovereign immunity. For example, their is the case of a suit being filed because of a negligent building inspector who inspected a building that later collasped. Then there is the case of a fire marshal who inspected a building after a fire subsequently gave the all clear signal only to have fire destroy the building a few hours later. Thus, issuing a driver's license is no different from the foregoing examples. But do not take my answer as the final answer. Please continue your research until you are satisfied. Good luck.