If, while out and about this holiday season, you encounter a pile of Christmas trees, tread carefully. In Barchi v. Rudin E. 55th St. LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 07266 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 3, 2016), the court affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s trip-and-fall personal injury complaint. From the decision/order: Defendants satisfied their prima…
Read More Christmas Tree Trip-and-Fall Complaint DismissedIn a lawsuit filed on Oct. 3, 2016, captioned Jane Doe v. Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, SDNY 16-cv-7673, plaintiff alleges, among other things: 10. Defendant [Donald J.] Trump initiated sexual contact with Plaintiff at four different parties. On the fourth and final sexual encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied Plaintiff to a…
Read More Donald Trump Rape LawsuitA recent First Department decision, Rosario v. Prana Nine Props., LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 06431 (Oct. 4, 2016), upheld the lower court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury slip-and-fall case. The court summarized the law as follows: A defendant who moves for summary judgment in a slip and fall case has the initial burden of…
Read More Slip/Fall Case Dismissed; No Duty to Correct Pedestrian-Tracked Water; No Notice of UrineA recent decision, Joseph v. City of New York, 2016 NY Slip Op 06649 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 11, 2016), illustrates the limitation of New York Labor Law 240(1), which imposes strict liability in certain construction-related accidents. From the decision: Plaintiff Lindy Joseph was struck by a pipe while it was being flushed clean with…
Read More Pressure, Not Gravity, Caused Pipe-Related Injury; Labor Law 240(1) Claim DismissedIn Balleram v. 11P, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 06458 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 4, 2016), the court affirmed a lower court’s order granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. Briefly, plaintiff sued to recover damages for personal injuries she allegedly sustained as a result of her slipping and falling while standing in her bathtub taking a…
Read More Court: No Statutory Duty to Install a “Handrail or Grab-Bar” in Apartment BathroomIn Chimbo v. Bolivar, 2016 NY Slip Op 05969 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Sept. 14, 2016) – an auto accident case arising from a collision between plaintiff’s vehicle and defendant’s garbage truck – the court reversed an order granting summary judgment to defendant. This decision reminds us of summary judgment is not permissible where there are…
Read More Conflicting Versions of Car Accident Result in Reversal of Summary Judgment for DefendantIn Rodriguez v. City of New York, 2016 NY Slip Op 05943 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 1, 2016), the court held that a plaintiff moving for summary judgment on liability must demonstrate, as a matter of law, that s/he is free from comparative fault. From the decision: In this case, we are revisiting a vexing…
Read More First Department: Personal Injury Plaintiff Must Show Freedom From Comparative Fault in Order to Win Summary Judgment on LiabilityThe Huffington Post reports that the woman who released worms and crickets on a NYC Subway on August 24, 2016, Zaida Pugh, said she did so as a prank. As can be seen on the video included in the article, the release of the creatures created pandemonium and caused people to scream in terror; apparently…
Read More Cricket Subway “Prank”: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress?In Pinkham v. West Elm, 2016 NY Slip Op 05899 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Aug. 25, 2016), a trip-and-fall personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a decision denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment. That is, plaintiff loses. From the decision: Defendants established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action…
Read More Personal Injury (Premises Liability) Case Dismissed Against West ElmIn Tighe v. North Shore Animal League Am., 2016 NY Slip Op 05807 (App. Div. 2d Dept Aug. 17, 2016), a dog bite case, the court reversed a lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The facts: On May 19, 2012, the plaintiff adopted a dog from an animal shelter, the defendant North Shore…
Read More Dog Bite Case Dismissed; Plaintiff Was Aware of Adopted Dog’s Vicious Propensities