Owners of Single Family Residence Not Liable for Defects in Abutting Sidewalk

In affirming the grant of summary judgment to the defendants who owned a single family residence abutting the allegedly defective sidewalk where plaintiff fell, the Second Department explained the relevant New York City law:

[Defendants] demonstrated that they were exempt from liability pursuant to Administrative Code of the City of New York § 7-210(b) for their alleged failure to maintain the sidewalk abutting their property by establishing that the subject property was a single-family residence, that it was owner occupied, and that it was used solely for residential purposes (see Administrative Code of City of N.Y. § 7-210[b]…).  Further, they established, prima facie, that they could not be held liable for the plaintiff’s alleged injuries under common-law principles. ‘Absent the liability imposed by statute or ordinance, an abutting landowner is not liable to a passerby on a public sidewalk for injuries resulting from defects in the sidewalk unless the landowner either created the defect or caused it to occur by special use’… . Shneider v City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 03148, 1st Dept 4-15-15