In Lee v. New York City Tr. Auth., 2016 NY Slip Op 03086 (App. Div. 1st Dept. April 21, 2016) – a slip-and-fall case – the court reversed a lower court order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. From the decision:
Plaintiff seeks damages for injuries she sustained when she slipped and fell on a banana peel as she was descending the stairway to a subway station. She alleges that the stairway was not properly maintained and was inadequately lit. Defendant’s failure to address the claim of inadequate lighting is fatal to its motion. Notwithstanding proof of defendant’s lack of notice of the banana peel, the inadequate lighting condition could still be a proximate cause of plaintiff’s accident. Further, defendant’s accident reports indicating that the area was dark and the testimonial evidence that the area was dark and had been dark since at least the day before the accident raise an issue of fact as to whether defendant had actual or constructive notice of the lighting condition. Notwithstanding defendant’s contention that it neither controlled nor had legal responsibility for the stairway, since the stairway was primarily used by defendant’s passengers as a means of approaching the subway, defendant owed a nondelegable duty to maintain the stairway or to warn passengers of any dangerous condition. Moreover, the testimony of defendant’s own employees raises a question of fact as to its duty to maintain the stairway.