Single Step Was Open and Obvious

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant was entitled to summary judgment in a slip and fall case because the alleged defective condition, a single step riser, was open and obvious and complied with building code requirements:

The defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence which demonstrated that the subject step complied with the relevant Building Code requirements and that it was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous … . The burden then shifted to the plaintiff to defeat the defendants’ motion with “proof demonstrating the existence of an issue of fact as to whether other circumstances prevailed which could lead the trier of fact to conclude that a dangerous condition existed which was a substantial cause of the [accident] resulting in the plaintiff[‘s] . . . injury” … . Contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact. Fishelson v Kramer Props., LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 08380, 2nd Dept 11-18-15