Court: NY App. Div. Dept. 1

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In Scafe v. Schindler Elevator Corp., the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment for defendant. Plaintiff sued for injuries sustained when elevator doors slammed on her hand. Summary judgment has been described as the procedural equivalent of a trial. “On a motion for summary judgment, the movant bears the burden of adducing affirmative…

Read More Elevator Accident Personal Injury Case Survives Summary Judgment
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In Serdans v. New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Appellate Division, First Department permitted plaintiff’s claim that defendant failed to accommodate her disability to continue. Plaintiff, a registered nurse and nurse practitioner specializing in critical care, “suffers from a neurological disorder for which she was treated with deep brain stimulus (DBS) through electrodes permanently implanted in…

Read More Court Allows Failure to Accommodate Neurological Disability Claim to Continue
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In Munasca v Morrison Mgt. LLC, a trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s case on summary judgment. Plaintiff was injured after tripping and falling on a sidewalk defect in front of defendants’ premises. The court held that defendant failed to show, as a matter of law, that the…

Read More Sidewalk Tlip and Fall Case Continues; Pictures Didn’t Show That Defect Was “Trivial”
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In Carbonnier v. Board of Education of the City of New York, a student who was injured after being pushed by another student while playing on the monkey bars in a school playground. The Appellate Division yesterday directed the entry of judgment in favor of defendant. According to the court, defendant demonstrated its entitlement to summary…

Read More Monkey Bar Injury Case Dismissed
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In Orsos v. Hudson Tr. Corp., the Appellate Division, First Department recently affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint seeking damages for personal injuries she sustained in a bus accident.  It held: Defendants established their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating the applicability of the emergency doctrine in this action where plaintiff…

Read More Application of “Emergency Doctrine” Results in Dismissal of Bus Accident Case
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In Torres v. 1420 Realty LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department recently applied the doctrine of “superseding cause” to affirm the dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury case. Under that doctrine, a defendant is relieved of liability where, after his negligence, an unforeseeable superseding event breaks the causal connection between his negligence and a plaintiff’s injuries.…

Read More Court Dismisses Personal Injury Case, Finding That Use of Inverted Bucket as Step Stool on Uneven Floor Was “Superseding Cause” of Injury
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In Matthews v. 400 Fifth Realty LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department reinstated plaintiff’s claims under Labor Law §§ 200 and 240(1).There, plaintiff was injured when a metal grate fell on him while he was working in the elevator shaft of a building owned by defendant 400 Fifth Realty. As to plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) claim, the…

Read More Plaintiff Wins Under § 240(1) in “Falling Object” Case; No Requirement That Object Fell While Being Hoisted or Secured
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Plaintiff and former school principal Michelle Askin alleged in a discrimination lawsuit that she was “subjected to unfair and excessive scrutiny and reprimands during 2010 to 2011, including an investigation into allegations of misconduct” and then terminated.  At the time, plaintiff was 54 and served as the principal of a school she had founded. In…

Read More Age Discrimination Complaint Against Dept. of Education Dismissed; No “Inference of Discrimination”
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In Barreto v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Appellate Division, First Department (Judges Tom, Friedman, Freedman, Feinman) court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s claims under Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1) and 241(6), holding that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of the injury-causing accident. Plaintiff was injured when he fell into an uncovered manhole while performing…

Read More Failure to Use “Perfect Safety Device” Dooms Plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) Claim
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In Mutadir v. 80-90 Maiden Lane Del LLC, a construction accident case, the Appellate Division, First Department modified a lower court order and reinstated plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) claim, but affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6), common-law negligence, and Labor Law § 200 claims. The accident: Plaintiff, a carpenter employed by…

Read More Carpenter Injured After Falling From Milk Crates May Continue Claims Under Labor Law § 240(1); Labor Law §§ 200 and 241(6) Claims Dismissed
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