In Gibbs v. Albee Tomato Co., Inc., a slip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, First Department explained why the Supreme Court, Bronx County, properly denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint: Defendants did not establish their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff was allegedly injured when he…
Read More Tomato Water Slip-and-Fall Case ContinuesIn Rodriguez v. Woods (a snow/ice slip-and-fall case) the Appellate Division, First Department reversed summary judgment for defendant City of New York. Plaintiff sued to recover for injuries sustained when she fell on an icy sidewalk. The main dispute in this case was “whether plaintiff raised an issue of fact as to whether the ice on…
Read More Injured Plaintiff Presents Sufficient Facts to Overcome Summary Judgment in Snow/Ice Slip-and-Fall Personal Injury CaseIn Williams v. New York City Tr. Auth. (decided 10/8/14), the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a judgement entered on a jury award of $480,000 (reached by applying the jury’s determination that defendant was 80% at fault in the happening of the accident to its assessment of $600,000 in damages sustained by plaintiff). Here are the…
Read More Court Affirms $480,000 Jury Award to Trip-and-Fall PlaintiffIn Elhorin v. Western Beef, Inc., the court denied defendants’ summary judgment motion seeking dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury slip-and-fall lawsuit. Plaintiff alleged that he sustained injuries when he slipped and fell on a piece of cardboard on the floor of defendant’s supermarket. As is common in these cases, defendant argued that it did not…
Read More Slip/Fall Case Continues, Based on Statement by Store Manager Regarding Notice of ConditionIn Panagos v. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Corp. (decided Sept. 2, 2014), a trip-and-fall case, the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. In this personal injury case, plaintiff (a 73 year-old woman) sued after sustaining injuries after tripping and falling on a series of three steps near the Cherry Esplanade and…
Read More “Optically Confusing” Steps Create Issue of Fact in Trip-and-Fall CaseIn Ortiz v. New York City Housing Authority, decided Sept. 11, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. In this personal injury slip/trip-and-fall case, plaintiff sued after she was injured after falling on ice on the sidewalk adjacent to defendant’s residential building. In finding that the trial…
Read More Plaintiff Overcomes Summary Judgment in Ice Trip/Fall CaseAs explained by the Second Department in Cipriano v. City of New York, In a slip and fall case, a defendant may establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that the plaintiff cannot identify the cause of his or her fall. If a plaintiff is unable to…
Read More Second Department Clarifies That a Slip/Fall Plaintiff Need Not Have Personal Knowledge of Cause of FallHere is the recent complaint filed by Vernon Steward and his wife against the American Museum of the Moving Image. Plaintiffs allege that, while on the 3rd floor of the museum, Mr. Steward “was caused to trip over a baby/infant who was on the floor causing him to fall to the floor.” He seeks to recover for his…
Read More Man Trips Over Baby in Museum, SuesIn Topchieva v. Lovett Co., LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department held: As clearly depicted on the surveillance video included in the record, plaintiff was injured when she slipped and fell immediately upon entering the lobby of defendants’ building. One of the lobby’s double glass doors was closed and locked, while the door through which plaintiff…
Read More Video of Mat Placement Results in Continuation of Lobby Slip/Fall CaseIn an Order issued on August 12, 2014 in the matter of Gaifman v. City of New York, Index No. 155965-2014 – a sidewalk trip-and-fall case – the Supreme Court, New York County (Judge Freed) denied plaintiff’s application to file a late notice of claim. According to the supporting memorandum of law in the Gaifman case, plaintiff tripped and…
Read More Court Rules That City is not Liable When Sidewalk Defects Are Caused By Tree Roots