In Lee v. Acevedo, 2017 NY Slip Op 05586 (App. Div. 2d Dept. July 12, 2017) – a personal injury premises liability case – the Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s award of summary judgment to defendant. Here are the facts, as summarized by the court: [Plaintiff alleged that she was injured] after she fell backwards…
Read More Fall-Down-Stairs Personal Injury Case Survives Summary JudgmentIn Chojnacki v. Old Westbury Gardens, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 05706, 2017 WL 3045841 (App. Div. 2d Dept. July 19, 2017), the court reversed a lower court’s finding that the alleged defect that caused plaintiff to fall – a raised brick – was “trivial” as a matter of law. From the decision:: The Supreme Court…
Read More Trip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment; Raised Brick Was Not a “Trivial Defect” as a Matter of LawIn Lebron v. 142 S 9, LLC, 151 A.D.3d 835, 54 N.Y.S.3d 679, 680 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. June 14, 2017), the Second Department affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s personal injury slip-and-fall case. Here, plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she slipped and fell on…
Read More Slip/Fall Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment; Defendants Did Not Submit Evidence Regarding Specific CleaningIn Sehgal v. www.nyairportsbus.com, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 05990 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Aug. 2, 2017) – a hit-in-the-rear car accident personal injury case – the court held that the trial court properly precluded the defendants from asking the injured plaintiff questions about his employment by the law firm representing him in the action and his…
Read More Cross-Examination of Personal Injury Plaintiff Regarding Employment and Doctor Referrals Properly LimitedYou may have read a recent news story about a group of teens who recorded and mocked a disabled man, Jamel Dunn, as he was drowning. If this happened in New York, could the observers be liable in a civil action to recover damages for personal injury/wrongful death?[1]Whether criminal liability may be found is beyond…
Read More Duty to Help Those in DangerIn Andersen v. El Triunfo Laundromat Corp., 54 N.Y.S.3d 166, 167–68 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2017), the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendant in plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that they slipped and fell due to the presence of a foreign substance on the floor of defendant’s premises. Summarizing the (familiar, now…
Read More Slip/Fall Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment in Light of Fact Issue as to Constructive NoticeFrom Rubino v. 330 Madison Co., LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 04210 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 25, 2017): The court properly granted plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim as against appellants. It is undisputed that violations of Industrial Code (12 NYCRR) § 23-1.13(b)(3) and (4) proximately caused…
Read More Electrocuted Worker Entitled to Summary Judgment Under New York Labor Law § 241(6)In Olenick v. City of N.Y., No. 23466/11, 2017 WL 1743179 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. May 4, 2017) – a personal injury case by a bicyclist injured when a pedestrian stepped into his path on the Brooklyn Bridge – the court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment and to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. By its…
Read More Brooklyn Bridge Cyclist Injury Lawsuit Proceeds Against City; Jury to Determine Whether City’s Failure to Conduct Safety Study Contributed to Plaintiff’s AccidentIn Capobianco v. Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC, No. 14 CIV. 6112 (NSR), 2017 WL 1157173 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 24, 2017), a personal injury slip-and-fall action, the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment. In sum, plaintiff testified that upon entering the “bottle room” of defendant’s supermarket (i.e., the area where customers tend to their recycling…
Read More Supermarket Slip/Fall Personal Injury Claim Survives Summary JudgmentIn Sawh v. Bally Contracting Corp., No. 16789/10, 2017 WL 902330 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. Mar. 8, 2017), the court granted plaintiff’s motion under CPLR 4404(a) to set aside a $100,000 jury verdict on the issue of damages for past pain and suffering, which in the court’s view were too low. From the Decision…
Read More $100k Award for Child’s Ankle Fracture Deviated Materially From Reasonable Compensation; New Trial Ordered Unless Defendant Agrees to Pay $300k