Defendant Shoveled Sidewalk and Snow Piled on Either Side Melted/Question of Fact Whether Defendant Created the Dangerous Condition Resulting from Subsequent Freezing of Melted Snow

The Second Department determined a question of fact existed about whether defendant created the hazardous condition (ice on a sidewalk) which caused plaintiff to fall.  Defendant testified she shoveled the sidewalk which left one-foot high piles of snow on either side of the sidewalk.  She also testified that she observed the piles of snow melting.  The temperature subsequently fell below freezing and was below freezing at the time of the accident:

The defendant, as the property owner, failed to establish as a matter of law that her snow removal activities did not create the allegedly hazardous icy condition which resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries … . The defendant’s submissions failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether the ice upon which the plaintiff slipped was formed when snow piles created by the defendant’s snow removal efforts melted and refroze … . Viera v Rymdzionek, 2013 NY Slip Op 08615, 2nd Dept 12-26-13