CARMEL, NY - More legal troubles for embattled state Assembly candidate John Degnan  surfaced today after it was revealed he was served with a summons and verified complaint for allegedly not inspecting his rental properties in the village of Brewster.

Legal proceedings in state Supreme Court were initiated on September 25, 2008, seeking monetary damages after Degnan allegedly operated one of his rental properties in a dangerous and hazardous manner.  As a result of Degnan’s alleged negligence, the plaintiff, a disabled Vietnam veteran, fell and sustained serious and permanent injuries.
 
According to court documents (see attached), Degnan allowed the premises to become and remain in a “defective and deteriorated condition…negligently, recklessly and carelessly causing and permitting the premises to be and remain in a dangerous condition for an unreasonable length of time resulting in hazard to plaintiff and others,” and failed to make adequate inspections and repairs to the property which “permitted the existence of a condition which constituted a trap, nuisance, menace and danger to lawful pedestrians.”
 
Degnan’s rental company was also found to have been delinquent with its taxes resulting in warrants issued by the State Department of Taxation and Finance in May 2001 and July 2006.

Degnan is already reeling from being the subject of a blockbuster federal civil rights lawsuit for allegedly silencing and retaliating against a whistleblower who exposed corruption and cronyism in Brewster.
 
“First, John Degnan waged a nasty smear campaign to slander Assemblyman Greg Ball’s reputation and military service to our country and now he has allegedly disrespected and caused injury to a Vietnam veteran by allowing his rental property to turn into a hazard,” said Adam D. Kramer, spokesman for the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee.
 
“It seems like it’s one mess-up after another with Degnan.  From his tax-hiking ‘million dollar mistake’ on Brewster’s accounting, to not doing background checks on prospective tenants thereby renting to alleged sexual predators, and now failing to maintain the safety of his own rental properties – Degnan has made one serious mistake after another,” said Kramer.
 
“Degnan has been an unmitigated failure and the voters recognized this during the September 9th primary and handed him an overwhelming defeat. I expect to see a similar outcome on November 4th,” concluded Kramer.