A recent Second Department decision, Fernandez v. Babylon Mun. Solid Waste, illustrates the circumstances under which a rear-ended plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment. Plaintiff’s vehicle was struck in the rear by a vehicle owned by defendant Babylon and driven by defendant Catania. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability, and…
Read More Rear-Ending Driver Not Liable as a Matter of LawIn Phillip v Young Men’s Christian Assn. of Greater N.Y. (a slip-and-fall case), the Appellate Division, First Department recently affirmed the lower court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. “Defendant met its initial burden of demonstrating lack of notice of the wet condition of the locker room floor where plaintiff allegedly slipped by submitting evidence…
Read More General Awareness of Wet Condition Insufficient to Survive Summary Judgment in Slip/Fall CaseIn Serra v. Goldman Sachs Group, the Appellate Division, First Department held that the trial court properly granted plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment as to liability on plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) claim: [P]laintiffs submitted uncontradicted deposition testimony that the unsecured extended ladder upon which plaintiff was working slipped and fell out from underneath him.…
Read More Ladder Slip Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff on Labor Law 240(1) ClaimIn Herrera v. Dulisse, a car accident case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s claim that she suffered a “serious injury”. Defendant “failed to establish his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law with respect to plaintiff’s claims under the ‘permanent consequential limitation of…
Read More Evidence of Bulging Disc and 20% Loss of Use of Cervical Spine Sufficient to Meet Serious Injury Threshold in Car Accident CaseBelow is the complaint recently filed in the Supreme Court, New York County by Donald Goode against NYC hotspot S.O.B.’s (a/k/a Sounds of Brazil). Plaintiff alleges that he was shot in the leg by a patron while he was attending a concert and party at SOBs called “Mixtape Release SDMB NYC Edition” for rapper Fat Trel. He alleges (among other…
Read More Lawsuit Against SOB’s By Victim Shot During Fat Trel “Sex, Drugs, Money and Guns” PartyMotor Vehicle accidents are, unfortunately, a frequent occurrence on New York’s roads. While many factors bear on whether the facts of your case will support a claim for damages, you should keep the following in mind, at least in the immediate (and likely chaotic) aftermath of a motor vehicle accident. Remain at the accident scene. By definition,…
Read More What Should You Do If You Are in a Car Accident?Don’t cry fight over spilled milk alcohol. That’s the (non-legal) takeaway from Selmani v City of New York, in which the Appellate Division, Second Department permitted plaintiff’s claims for negligent hiring, supervision, training, and retention to continue against defendants City of New York and the New York City Fire Department. The case arose from injuries sustained by plaintiffs during…
Read More Bar Brawl Case Continues Against City and FDNY on Negligent Hiring/Supervision/Training/Retention TheoryToday’s case summary comes out of the Second Department. In the illuminating decision of Conneally v. Diocese of Rockville Centre, decided April 23, 2014, the court affirmed the trial court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. This case addresses a landowner’s duty to properly light their premises. “At about 9:00 p.m. on August 20, 2009,…
Read More Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Case Involving Alleged Inadequate LightingIn Atchison v. Metropolitan Enterprises, a recent trip-and-fall case, a Brooklyn trial court rejected defendants’ attempt to subject plaintiff to a second Independent Medical Examination (IME). They sought the second examination due to intervening events which, to put it mildly, raised questions as to the first doctor’s credibility. (Note: As a plaintiff’s lawyer, I – as…
Read More Perjury Allegation Against Medical Expert Does Not Justify Second Medical Examination of Plaintiff in Trip-and-Fall Personal Injury SuitIn Bisram v. Long Island Jewish Hospital, a recent construction accident case, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the lower court’s decision to grant plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim, but modified the decision and granted defendants’ motion as to plaintiff’s claims based on Labor Law § 200 and certain claims…
Read More Defendant’s Failure to Secure Steel Beam Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff on Labor Law 240(1) Claim