Court: NY App. Div. Dept. 2

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Bajada v. Spector, 2014 NY Slip Op 05143 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. July 9, 2014): The defendant established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability by demonstrating that the infant’s negligent operation of his bicycle in failing to yield the right-of-way was the sole proximate cause…

Read More Bicyclist’s Failure to Yield Right of Way Results in Summary Judgment for Defendant Driver
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In Kaplan v. NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene et al., the plaintiff recently filed a Notice of Appeal from a May 16, 2014 decision and order dismissing her sexual harassment and retaliation claims. In this case, plaintiff alleged that she suffered harassment and a hostile work environment after being forced to watch a co-worker masturbate. In dismissing…

Read More Plaintiff Appeals Sexual Harassment Masturbation Case
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In Brownrigg v. New York City Hous. Auth. (decided July 2, 2014) – a construction/elevator-accident case – the Appellate Division, Second Department denied defendants’ CPLR 4404 motion, and upheld the jury’s verdict that defendants were liable under New York Labor Law §§ 200 and 241(6).  In this case, plaintiff and his coworker, both elevator mechanics, were repairing one…

Read More Court Upholds Jury Verdict for Plaintiff in Elevator Accident Case
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In Mahautiere v. New York City Tr. Auth., the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit arising from a subway car’s failure to provide adequate air conditioning. The court held that the defendant established “that its gratuitous provision of air conditioning ‘created no justifiable reliance’ on the part of the plaintiff [citation omitted] and…

Read More Gratuitous Provision of Subway Air Conditioning Exonerates Transit Authority in Personal Injury Lawsuit
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In Laguerre v. Kessler, a premises liability/trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Initially, the court held that the “defendant established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting proof that there was no defect in the subject carpeting, and that the carpeting…

Read More Stair Trip/Fall Case Continues
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In Martyniak v Charleston Enters., LLC (decided June 4, 2014), a trip-and-fall action, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment for defendant. Plaintiff allegedly sustained personal injuries when she tripped and fell over a piece of metal protruding from the sidewalk in front of a Target store located in Staten Island. The court…

Read More Trip-and-Fall Case Continues; Defect Not “Trivial” as a Matter of Law
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In Kats-Kagan v City of New York, the Appellate Division, Second Department held (in a May 7, 2014 decision) that an ice skater’s personal injury suit should not have been dismissed as against the City of New York. The facts: The plaintiff, an experienced ice skater, allegedly was injured while ice skating at a rink owned…

Read More Ice Skater Did Not Consent to Increased Risk by “Zigzagging” Employee; Case Against City Continues
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Even in cases involving horrific injuries or death, the plaintiff must still prove negligence – that is, a deviation from the relevant standard of care – in order to win. That’s the lesson of Clark v. Amboy Bus Co., decided by the Appellate Division, Second Department on May 21, 2014. In this tragic case of…

Read More Bus-Bicycle Accident Death Case Dismissed, Where Bus Driver Acted With Due Care
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In Halsey v New York City Transit Authority, 114 AD3d 726, the Second Department affirmed a judgment, entered on a jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor, in the principal amount of $3,000,000 for future pain and suffering. Plaintiff was injured when a bus on which she was riding struck a utility pole. Plaintiff’s injuries included a protruding…

Read More Court Affirms $3 Million Future Pain and Suffering Jury Award in Bus Accident Case
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A recent Second Department decision, Fernandez v. Babylon Mun. Solid Waste, illustrates the circumstances under which a rear-ended plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment. Plaintiff’s vehicle was struck in the rear by a vehicle owned by defendant Babylon and driven by defendant Catania. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability, and…

Read More Rear-Ending Driver Not Liable as a Matter of Law
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