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In Cruz v. Perspolis Realty LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01531 (App. Div. 1st Dept. March 5, 2019) – a slip-and-fall case – the court reversed the lower court’s order granting summary judgment to defendants. The court explained: Triable issues of fact exist in this action where plaintiff was injured when, while descending the interior…
Read More Ice Cream Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment
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In Hobbs v. New York City Hous. Auth., 2019 NY Slip Op 00686 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 31, 2019) – a personal injury slip-and-fall case – the court unanimously affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. In this case, plaintiff alleges that they slipped on urine in an elevator in one of…
Read More Elevator Urine Slip/Fall Case Overcomes Summary Judgment
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In Tzamarot v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., 2018 NY Slip Op 09023 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Dec. 27, 2018), the court unanimously affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s slip-and-fall complaint. The court (tersely) stated: Dismissal of the complaint was proper since plaintiff’s attempt to walk on top of a curbside mound of snow as a shortcut…
Read More Attempted Shortcut Leads to Injury, Dismissal of Slip-and-Fall Complaint
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In Easley v. U Haul, 2018 NY Slip Op 08008 (App. Div. Nov. 21, 2018), a personal injury trip-and-fall action, the court held that defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint should have been granted. In sum, plaintiff alleged that he was “injured when he tripped and fell on a half-inch to one-inch metal protrusion sticking…
Read More Defect Was “Trivial”; Personal Injury Action Dismissed
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In Suarez v. Emerald 115 Mosholu LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 06059 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 13, 2018) – a trip-and-fall personal injury case – the court held that the alleged defect was not “trivial” as a matter of law and, therefore, that plaintiff’s case should not have been dismissed on summary judgment. The facts,…
Read More Defect Was Not “Trivial” as a Matter of Law; Trip/Fall Case Continues
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To succeed in a slip-and-fall case, the injured plaintiff must establish that the defendant property owner was negligent. This is typically done by showing that they had actual or constructive notice of, yet failed to correct, the dangerous condition. In a recent decision, Canteen v. New York City Housing Authority, 2018 NY Slip OP 05733…
Read More Slip/Fall Dismissal Affirmed; Notice Undermined by Caretaker Affidavit
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In Green v. Price Chopper, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 05578 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Aug. 1, 2018), a personal injury trip-and-fall case, the court held that the defendant supermarket was not entitled to summary judgment on liability. Plaintiff testified that she tripped and fell over a raised portion of a rubber mat near the supermarket…
Read More Raised Mat Not “Trivial” Defect as a Matter of Law; Summary Judgment for Defendants Reversed
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From Jones v. New York City Hous. Auth., 2018 NY Slip Op 00027 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 2, 2018): Defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff was injured when he slipped and fell on ice. Defendant submitted evidence, including the testimony of its supervisor of…
Read More Ice Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment
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One common type of personal injury case involves someone being injured as a result of tripping and falling on someone’s property, resulting in injury. In these so-called “trip-and-fall” cases, courts have developed and applied the “trivial defect” doctrine. The Law In determining whether a defect is “trivial” as a matter of law, the court must…
Read More The “Trivial Defect” Doctrine in Personal Injury Trip-and-Fall Premises Liability Cases
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In Chojnacki v. Old Westbury Gardens, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 05706, 2017 WL 3045841 (App. Div. 2d Dept. July 19, 2017), the court reversed a lower court’s finding that the alleged defect that caused plaintiff to fall – a raised brick – was “trivial” as a matter of law. From the decision:: The Supreme Court…
Read More Trip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment; Raised Brick Was Not a “Trivial Defect” as a Matter of Law