In 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 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”News 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 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 ContinuesCrowded 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 TargetHere’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 Objects