In Solomon v. National Amusements, Inc., 128 AD3d 947 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. May 20, 2015) – a personal injury case arising from an assault on plaintiffs by fellow movie patrons – the court affirmed the denial of the movie theater owner’s motion for summary judgment. Here’s the law: A property owner must act in…
Read More Movie Theater Assault Case ContinuesPepsi and double parking? That sounds familiar. Interestingly, a recent personal injury case, Barry v. Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., involves both. This case stands for the proposition that illegal double-parking – while perhaps illustrating societal stupidity or even signifying the onset of a dictatorship – is not necessarily the proximate cause of an accident in which the double parker…
Read More Double-Parked, Rear-Ended Pepsi Defendant Wins Dismissal of Car Accident Personal Injury LawsuitIn Luis S. v. City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 06022 (1st Dept. July 9, 2015), the plaintiff broke his knee after attempting to clear a hurdle which was part of a middle gym class obstacle course. The Appellate Division, First Department reversed a denial of summary judgment to defendants and dismissed the action. The court…
Read More Middle School Gym Obstacle Course Injury Case DismissedIn Chaney v. Starbucks Corporation, 2015 WL 3883251 (SDNY June 23, 2015), a trip-and-fall case, the Southern District of New York granted Starbucks’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the case. The facts, from the opinion: On August 9, 2013, plaintiff John Chaney went to a Starbucks café in the Bronx for lunch. Upon entry, he…
Read More Starbucks Granted Dismissal in Phone Charger Trip/Fall CaseIn Levin v. Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 06025 (App. Div. 1 Dept. July 9, 2015), a personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a summary judgment for plaintiff under the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur“. Generally, res ipsa loquitur permits a factfinder to infer negligence based upon the sheer occurrence of…
Read More Res Ipsa Loquitur Applicable; Plaintiff Granted Summary Judgment in Garage Door Fall Personal Injury CaseCar accident cases typically involve questions of fact, such as who had the red/green light, who entered the intersection first, whether a driver was looking at their cell phone at the time of impact, etc. – the list goes on and on. This is why it may be difficult for one party to a car…
Read More Questions of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Car Accident CaseIn Guzman v. Broadway 922 Enters., LLC, decided July 2, 2015, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s snow/ice slip-and-fall case. The court considered, and rejected, defendant’s defense based on the so-called “storm in progress” rule. In addition, it provides an example of one way a…
Read More Snow/Ice Slip-and-Fall Case Continues Based on Testimony that Ice Was “Dark” and “Dirty”In Aycardi v. Robinson, 2015 Slip Op 04249 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 19, 2015), the court addressed the not-uncommon scenario where the plaintiff seeks to hold the employer of an alleged wrongdoer liable under the principle of vicarious liability. In this case, plaintiff pedestrian asserts that she was hit by a car being driven by…
Read More Questions of Fact Regarding Vicarious Liability Preclude Summary Judgment in Car Accident CaseNews of the recent tragic death of Kasey Jones, who fell to her death as she tried to use a fire escape to re-enter her apartment, illustrates (perhaps ironically) the potential risks associated with these life-saving, and quintessentially New York City, building appendages. A case recently decided by the Appellate Division, First Department, Lombardi v. Partnership…
Read More Fire Escape Injury Case ContinuesIn Spearin v. Linmar, L.P., 129 AD3d 528 (App. Div. 1st Dept. June 16, 2015), a personal injury case, the court addressed an issue that is coming up with increasing frequency: namely, the extent to which a plaintiff’s social media postings must be turned over in discovery. The court reversed a lower court decision that “ordered…
Read More Piano-Playing Plaintiff’s Facebook Posts Ordered for In-Camera Inspection