Slip/Trip and Fall

In Slattery v. Sachem N. High Sch., the Appellate Division, Second Department recently affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff claimed she “tripped and fell due to a difference in height between two concrete slabs of a sidewalk abutting the defendants’ premises.” The court explained the legal standard for determining…

Read More Sidewalk Defect Was Not “Trivial” as a Matter of Law; Trip-and-Fall Case Continues
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I’ve spent many Saturdays wandering around Barnes & Noble bookstores. Years ago I would frequent the Astor Place store; after it closed my go-to location became the Union Square store. That was my awkward segue into today’s post, about a slip-and-fall case against the behemoth bookseller. The accident in this case, Seleman v. Barnes & Noble, occurred…

Read More Escalator Slip/Fall Case Against Barnes & Noble Continues
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If you see a banana peel on the stairs, don’t intentionally step on it. That’s the lesson from Betances v. 470 Audobon Ave. Corp., a recent New York Supreme Court decision. There, the plaintiff slipped on a banana peel and fell down the stairs. He sued, alleging that defendant was negligent in maintaining the staircase, and permitting…

Read More Step Away From the Banana Peel!
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In Gomez v J.C. Penny Corp., Inc., the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a denial of summary judgment for defendant J.C. Penny, and directed a judgment in defendant’s favor dismissing the complaint. In this negligence case, Plaintiff alleges that she slipped and fell on water near the bottom of an escalator going from the third to…

Read More Evidence of Inspection and No Complaints Result in Dismissal of Slip/Fall Suit Against J.C. Penny
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Plaintiff was injured when she slipped on an accumulation of water and fell in the bathroom of her apartment in defendants’ building.  The water that caused plaintiff’s fall came from a leak in the bathroom ceiling. The trial court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed.  The case is Hernandez…

Read More Apartment Occupant Can Continue Case Arising Out of Slip-and-Fall On Water From Ceiling Leak
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In Seleznyov v New York City Tr. Auth., the Appellate Division, First Department reversed summary judgment for, and reinstated plaintiff’s complaint against, defendants New York City Transit Authority and the City of New York. It held: NYCTA failed to establish entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, in this action where plaintiff was injured…

Read More Questions Regarding Adequacy and Reasonableness of Subway Cleaning Schedule Result in Reinstatement of Slip-and-Fall Case
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In Tompa v. 767 Fifth Partners, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on a thin sheet of ice on the plaza in front of defendant’s building.  Defendant presented evidence that it neither created nor had notice of the icy condition of the…

Read More Court Dismisses Slip/Fall Case Based on Fluid Dynamics Theory Requiring Expert Testimony
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In a recent case, Harrison v. New York City Tr. Auth., the First Department clarified how juries must be instructed on the issue of constructive notice in a slip-and-fall case. There, the court reversed a judgment entered on a $500,000 jury verdict for plaintiff and ordered a new trial on liability. Plaintiff “slipped and fell on…

Read More Citing Erroneous Jury Instruction on Constructive Notice, Court Orders New Liability Trial in Subway Slip/Fall Case
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In Pulver v. City of Fulton Dept. of Public Works (App. Div. 4th Dept. Jan. 3, 2014), the court reversed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint.  There, [plaintiff sued] to recover damages for injuries that she allegedly sustained when she tripped and fell in a hole in the…

Read More Defendant Wins in Trip and Fall Case, Where Plaintiff Could Not Demonstrate “Affirmative Negligence” Exception to “Prior Written Notice” Requirement
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In Dove v. Manhattan Plaza Health Club, the Appellate Division, First Department dismissed plaintiff’s complaint seeking recovery for injuries after slipping on water around a health club’s indoor pool. Defendants “showed that the presence of such water was ‘necessarily incidental’ to the use of the pool.” In response, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue…

Read More Pool Slip/Fall Case Dismissed; Water Was “Necessarily Incidental” to Use of Pool
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