In DiMarzo v. Jones Lang LaSalle Ams. Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. June 11, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. In this personal injury / trip-and-fall case, plaintiff alleged that they were injured after tripping and falling on an extension cord on defendants’ premises. The court explained: The…
Read More Extension Cord Trip-Fall Case ContinuesIn Chiara v. Dernago, 2015 NY Slip Op 04444 (2nd Dept. May 27, 2015), the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion under CPLR 4404(a) to set aside a jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor. Here are the facts of this personal injury / car accident case: The evidence at the trial on the…
Read More Court Upholds $70k Punitive Damage Award Against Drunk DriverIn Doerr v. Goldsmith, decided by the New York Court of Appeals on June 9, 2015, the New York Court of Appeals (for non-New York readers, New York’s highest court) reversed the decision of the First Department in Doerr v. Goldsmith, 110 AD3d 453, which permitted a claim arising from a dog-related injury to continue.…
Read More NY Court of Appeals Adheres to “Vicious Propensity” Rule for Dog-Related InjuriesCrowded movie theaters can be fun, especially for summer blockbusters. Unless, of course, you’re stuck up front and need to crane your neck way up. Another downside is the risk of being injured in a movie theater crowd stampede. Those are the facts giving rise to the lawsuit in Sachar v. Columbia Pictures Indus., Inc., decided by…
Read More Overbooked Movie Theater Stampede Case ContinuesNew York Labor Law § 240(1) is a formidable statute that, when applicable, holds “contractors and owners and their agents” absolutely liable for certain injuries sustained by construction workers. The statute’s reach, however, is not absolute. By its terms, Labor Law § 240(1) affords protection to workers engaged in the “erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing…
Read More Worker Struck on Head by Falling Tree Trunk Not Protected by Labor Law § 240(1)In Lacey v. Target Corp., 2015 WL 2254968 (EDNY May 12, 2015), the court reviewed and applied the relevant New York law relating to slips and falls on foreign substances. Here, plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she slipped and fell on “slippery, old and dirty pieces of apple” in defendant’s store in Brooklyn,…
Read More Court Dismisses Apple-Slip-and-Fall Suit Against TargetIn Geralds v. Damiano, 2015 NY Slip Op 04380 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 21, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment to plaintiff. In this personal injury / motor vehicle accident /rear-end collision case: Plaintiff was injured when he was struck by a truck owned by defendant New York City…
Read More Rear-Ended Plaintiff Not Entitled to Summary JudgmentHere’s another reason not to eat potato chips – or at least not to litter. Plaintiff Yvette Hawthorne-King alleged that she slipped and fell on exterior steps of a NYC Housing Authority Building “when she used her foot to swipe aside a potato chip bag on one step, and then slipped on an oily substance…
Read More Potato Chip Bag-Kick Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary JudgmentAmong the many different ways to get injured (particularly in a place like New York City) is to be hit by a falling object. Such objects can include, for example: construction site equipment, a tree or tree branch, a giant restaurant mirror, an air conditioner, rocks, or a piece of decorative terra-cotta windowsill (as in the…
Read More Injuries Resulting From Falling ObjectsIn Bisignano v. Raabe (App. Div. 2nd Dept. May 13, 2015) – a personal injury case arising from injuries sustained by the infant plaintiff who was punched and kicked by two teenage boys while attending a fair at St. Rose of Lima Church – the court reversed summary judgment for defendants. Here is the law applicable to this…
Read More Defendants Denied Summary Judgment in Personal Injury Case Arising From Fight at Church Fair