In Jangana v. Nicole Equities LLC (App. Div. 1st Dept. Apr. 9, 2015), a trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, First Department rejected the defendants’ argument that the alleged injury-causing defective condition – here, a moving carpet – was “trivial” as a matter of law. The court explained: Summary judgment was properly denied in this action…
Read More Carpet Trip/Fall Case ContinuesA recent Appellate Division decision, Valverde v. Great Expectations, LLC (decided March 31, 2015) is an example of a defense failure to make a prima facie showing to summary judgment in a personal injury premises liability case. The court affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendants’ motion, without considering plaintiff’s responsive papers. From the opinion: Defendants…
Read More Questions re Notice Result in Denial of Summary Judgment in Golf Path Trip/Fall CaseIn Barris v. One Beard St., LLC, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the grant of summary judgment to defendants. In this personal injury/premises liability case, “[t]he injured plaintiff, who was then 12 years old and accompanied by his father, allegedly slipped and fell on loose and broken pieces of asphalt as he was running…
Read More IKEA Slip/Fall Case ContinuesIn Pion v. New York City Hous. Auth. (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 10, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. In this personal injury premises liability lawsuit, plaintiff alleged that he was injured when he tripped and fell down a staircase in defendant’s building.…
Read More “Trap” Stairway Trip-Fall Case ContinuesIn Rajkumar v. Budd Contracting Co. (App. Div. 1st Dept. 2/5/15), the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously revered the lower court’s order granting summary judgment to defendant. From the decision: Plaintiff, an employee of a framing contractor, commenced this action alleging that he slipped and was injured while carrying a framed mirror when his foot…
Read More Construction Paper Trip-Fall Case ContinuesIn Fisher v. Kasten, decided January 21, 2015, the Appellate Division, Second Department dismissed plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case on the basis of the so-called “storm-in-progress” rule. Plaintiff alleges that in February 2011, he was “injured after slipping and falling on an icy condition on the landing of an exterior stairway of the apartment building in which…
Read More Court Applies “Storm in Progress” Rule to Dismiss Slip-and-Fall CaseIn Coley v. NYC Housing Authority (decided January 20, 2015) – an ice slip-and-fall case – the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. It reasoned: Defendant failed to establish its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff was injured when she slipped…
Read More Issues of Fact in Ice Slip/Fall Case Result in Proper Denial of Summary Judgment to DefendantIn Horn v. 197 5th Ave. Corp., the Appellate Division, Second Department held that plaintiff’s trip-and-fall case should have been dismissed. Plaintiff sued “to recover damages for injuries she sustained when she allegedly tripped and fell over a sidewalk cellar door adjacent to the defendants’ property at 197 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn.” There was, however, a…
Read More Cellar Door Trip/Fall Case Should Have Been Dismissed; Errata Sheet Could Not Be Used to Correct Location of AccidentIn Smith v. New York City Housing Authority, a slip-and-fall case decided January 14, 2015, the Appellate Division, Second Department held that the Supreme Court should have denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment. “A real property owner or a party in possession or control of real property will be held liable for injuries sustained in…
Read More Black Ice Slip/Fall Case ContinuesIn Beceren v. Joan Realty LLC, decided January 14, 2015, the Appellate Division, Second Department held that a defendant property owner was entitled to dismissal of plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. In this case, plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she slipped and fell on water in a vestibule area in Brooklyn apartment building owned or maintained…
Read More Slip/Fall Case Dismissed; “Inherently Slippery” Smooth Floor Was Not An Actionable Defect