Trivial Defect

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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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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 Mazza v. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church, 134 A.D.3d 1073 (N.Y. App. Div. 2nd Dept. 2015), the court affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on liability, and declined to find that the alleged defect upon which plaintiff tripped was “trivial” as a matter of law. In…

Read More Trip-and-Fall Case Continues; Alleged Defect Was Not “Trivial”
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In Torres v. Nine-O-Seven Holding Corp., the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sidewalk trip-and-fall case. After examination of the photographs and the other evidence presented in the record, including plaintiff’s deposition testimony, and considering all the relevant factors, this Court finds that as a matter of law the alleged defect in the…

Read More Trip-and-Fall Case Dismissed; Sidewalk Defect Was “Trivial” as a Matter of Law
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In Palladino v. City of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. April 1, 2015), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s trip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she “tripped on a depression in the asphalt surface abutting a metal plate which covered a valve box that served a nearby fire hydrant.” The…

Read More Trip/Fall Case Dismissed; Half-Inch Deep Depression Was “Trivial” as a Matter of Law
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In Jangana v. Nicole Equities LLC (App. Div. 1st Dept. Apr. 9, 2015), a trip-and-fall case, the Appellate Division, First Department rejected the defendants’ argument that the alleged injury-causing defective condition – here, a moving carpet – was “trivial” as a matter of law. The court explained: Summary judgment was properly denied in this action…

Read More Carpet Trip/Fall Case Continues
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In Pion v. New York City Hous. Auth. (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 10, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. In this personal injury premises liability lawsuit, plaintiff alleged that he was injured when he tripped and fell down a staircase in defendant’s building.…

Read More “Trap” Stairway 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 Slattery v. Sachem N. High Sch., the Appellate Division, Second Department recently affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff claimed she “tripped and fell due to a difference in height between two concrete slabs of a sidewalk abutting the defendants’ premises.” The court explained the legal standard for determining…

Read More Sidewalk Defect Was Not “Trivial” as a Matter of Law; Trip-and-Fall Case Continues
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