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Town’s Duty to Maintain Roadways in a Safe Condition Extends to the Maintenance of Trees Not Located on Town Property—Here a Tree Limb Fell Onto Plaintiffs’ Moving Vehicle

The plaintiffs were injured when a limb fell from a tree onto their moving vehicle.  The defendant town moved for summary judgment, alleging that the tree was not located in the town’s right of way and the town did not therefore owe a duty to the plaintiffs.  The Second Department disagreed:

The Town’s duty to maintain its roadways in a reasonably safe condition extends to the maintenance of trees, adjacent to a road, that could reasonably be expected to pose a danger to travelers … . Contrary to the Town’s contention that it owed no duty to the plaintiffs by virtue of the fact that it did not own, maintain, or control the subject tree or the location of that tree, “the exact location of the tree with respect to the Town’s right of way is not dispositive” of the issue of the Town’s duty … . Accordingly, the Town failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, and the Supreme Court correctly denied the Town’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaints and all cross claims insofar as asserted against it, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers … . Piscitelli v County of Suffolk, 2014 NY Slip Op 06961, 2nd Dept 10-15-14

 

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