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Defect Was Trivial As a Matter of Law—Criteria Explained

The Second Department determined the slip an fall case should have been dismissed.  The defect was trivial as a matter of law: “… [P]roperty owners may not be held liable for trivial defects, not constituting a trap or nuisance, over which a pedestrian might merely stumble, stub his or her toes, or trip … . There is no minimal dimension test or per se rule that the condition must be of a certain height or depth to be actionable … . In determining whether a defect is trivial as a matter of law, the court must examine all of the facts presented, “including the width, depth, elevation, irregularity and appearance of the defect along with the time, place and circumstance’ of the injury … . “Photographs which fairly and accurately represent the accident site may be used to establish that a defect is trivial and not actionable … “. [internal quotations omitted]  Santacruz v Taco Bell of Am., LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 04111, 2nd Dept 5-13-15

 

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IF THE JUDGE DOES NOT LAY OUT IN DETAIL THE SPECIFIC CONDUCT JUSTIFYING A DISMISSAL OF AN ACTION FOR NEGLECT TO PROSECUTE, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DISMISSAL PURSUANT TO CPLR 3216 ARE NOT MET AND THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD FOR THE FILING OF ANOTHER COMPLAINT (CPLR 205(A)) IS AVAILABLE (SECOND DEPT).
DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT PROVIDING THE COMBINATION TO A SAFE TO SEARCHING PAROLE OFFICERS, AS WELL AS THE FIREARMS FOUND IN THE SAFE, SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (SECOND DEPT).
ADMISSION OF A CHART SHOWING THE STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP OF A GANG WAS (HARMLESS) ERROR (SECOND DEPT).
UNSIGNED DEPOSITIONS WERE ADMISSIBLE AND EVIDENCE SUBMITTED IN REPLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED (SECOND DEPT).
THE FACT THAT THE ARBITRATOR MADE ERRORS OF LAW DID NOT AFFECT THE VALIDITY OF THE AWARD BECAUSE THERE WAS A RATIONAL BASIS FOR THE RULING; ARBITRATION AWARDS ARE LARGELY UNREVIEWABLE (SECOND DEPT).
EMAILS INADVERTENTLY PROVIDED TO PLAINTIFF WERE NOT PROTECTED BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE, SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE ISSUED A PROTECTIVE ORDER (SECOND DEPT).
SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DEVIATED FROM THE FORMULA FOR DETERMINING TEMPORARY SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE IN THIS DIVORCE PROCEEDING WITHOUT MAKING A FINDING THAT USING THE FORMULA WOULD RESULT IN AN UNFAIR AMOUNT (SECOND DEPT).
THE ISSUE ON A PRIOR APPEAL WAS WHETHER THE MOTION TO AMEND THE COMPLAINT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED; THE ISSUE HERE IS WHETHER THE MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT SHOULD BE GRANTED; THE ISSUES ARE DIFFERENT AND THE LAW OF THE CASE DOCTRINE DOES NOT APPLY (SECOND DEPT).

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