The city of Rochester and Monroe County have both been put on notice in New York Supreme Court, a sign litigation could be coming following the grease pit drowning of a 3-year-old earlier this summer. 

In July, Bryce Raynor, 3, was with his mother who worked at the Tim Hortons on University Avenue, when he fell into the restaurant’s grease trap and died.

Two months later, the family is taking the first step in possible legal action by filing a notice of claim against the city of Rochester and Monroe County, which is required by law within 90 days of the accident if suing a government body.

“We’re exploring the possibility that there was negligence that was involved on either the county or city’s part, so in order for us to potentially pursue the claim down the line, we have to give them notice that this is something we’re looking into, so they themselves can look into it,” said the family’s attorney Lori Robb Monaghan.

No lawsuit has been filed at this time. 

“It’s a very tangled web of regulations and ownership, and the timeline itself is unclear in terms of who knew what when and who made what decisions, so we’re still trying to sort through that,” Monaghan said.

The notice comes on the heel of the county passing legislation that created new regulation regarding the security of grease trap lids in the county. But Monaghan says they’re not unappreciative.

“It is a delicate balance, and it’s not meant to be a thumb in the face or however you want to put it, but the bottom line is what happened to Bryce that day is deplorable, and trying to make sure we have all the responsibility and all the accountability for every possible party is all we’re trying to do,” Monaghan said.

Because the investigation is so complex, Monaghan says it’s hard to predict a timeline of any future litigation.

“What we’re hoping we can do is learn more, have some conversations and find some kind of closure for this family. That’s the ultimate goal,” Monaghan said.

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