In Hirsch v. Solares, 2018 NY Slip Op 07828 (App. Div. 1st Div. Nov. 15, 2018), a personal injury action arising from a bar fight, the court held that summary judgment was properly denied as to plaintiff’s negligence claim, but that plaintiff’s claim for strict liability under Alcoholic Beverage Control Law § 65(2) should have been dismissed. As…
Read More Bar Brawl Personal Injury Case Survives Summary Judgment, In PartIn 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 DismissedIn Rosen v. MHM Realty LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 07549 (App. Div. 1st Div. Nov. 8, 2018), the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the lower court’s order denying plaintiff’s motion for a protective order and directed plaintiff to give defendants an unlimited authorization (for a specified period) for mental health records for treatment in connection with injuries…
Read More Mental Health Records Must Be Produced in Injury Case, Court HoldsIn Sager v. Waldo Gardens, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07359 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 1, 2018) – a personal injury slip-and-fall case – the court affirmed the lower court’s denial of summary judgment to the defendant. The outcome, like so many cases of this type, turned on the often difficult-to-prove issue of constructive notice. From…
Read More Slip/Fall Case Survives Summary Judgment; Court Cites Porter’s Failure to Mop the Area Despite Noticing it Was WetHappy Halloween! There are many instances of Halloween antics giving rise to litigation. As one (admittedly old) example, consider Daniels v. Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, 689 N.Y.S.2d 463, 464, 261 A.D.2d 115, 115 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 1999), in which the plaintiff sued a bus operator after being “struck in the left eye…
Read More Personal Injury Case Arising From Egg Thrown By “Halloween Miscreant” DismissedIn Ricaurte v. Inwood Beer Garden & Bistro Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 07242 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 30, 2018), the court held that the lower court should have granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s claim under New York’s Dram Shop Act, but that it should have denied it as to plaintiff’s…
Read More Negligence, But Not Dram Shop Act, Claim Survives Summary JudgmentMotor vehicle accident cases frequently involve disputed issues of fact – e.g., who had the green light? – that are for the trier of fact to decide. In certain cases, however, the evidence warrants judgment in one party’s favor. One example of such a case is Bokum v. Sera Sec. Servs., LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op…
Read More Plaintiff Entitled to Summary Judgment in Pedestrian Knockdown CaseIn Sanchez v. Morris Ave. Equities Corp., 2018 NY Slip Op 07071 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Oct. 23, 2018), a premises liability personal injury case, the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendant. In this case, the plaintiff was assaulted in the gated alleyway leading to the boiler room and the superintendent’s apartment in…
Read More Defendant Denied Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Assault CaseIn Newisky v. United Artists Kaufman Astoria 14 Regal Cinemas, 2018 NY Slip Op 06880 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Oct. 17, 2018), the court held that defendant should have been granted summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The court described the accident as follows; The plaintiff and his wife arrived at the theater and began to look…
Read More Movie Seat Injury Case Properly Dismissed; Res Ipsa Loquitur UnavailableFrom Madsen v. Catamount Ski Resort, 2018 NY Slip Op 06794 (App. Div. 1st Div. Oct. 11, 2018): Plaintiffs seek to recover for personal injuries sustained by their infant daughter in a skiing accident at defendants’ ski resort. Plaintiffs claim that defendants were negligent in failing to pad the metal snow machine pole with which the infant…
Read More Skiing Accident Personal Injury Case Survives Summary Judgment