This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Over a six-month period, Linda Riss (P) was stalked and threatened by a rejected suitor named Burton Pugach, attorney at law. He threatened, 'If I can't have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you, no one else will want you.' P reported these threats to the police. The help she was given was not commensurate with the identifiable danger. On June 14, 1959, P became engaged to another man and was threatened again on the phone. P called the police and begged them for help. They did nothing. The next day, a thug hired by Pugach threw lye in P's face. P was blinded in one eye, lost a good portion of her vision in the other, and her face was permanently scarred. P sued the City of New York (D) for the negligent failure of the NYPD to protect her. The complaint was dismissed. P appealed.

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