Tracked In Water, Failure to Demonstrate When Area Last Inspected Precluded Summary Judgment

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s failure to demonstrate when the area where the slip and fall occurred was last inspected precluded summary judgment in defendant’s favor. Evidence of general cleaning procedures is not enough to demonstrate a lack of constructive notice of an alleged dangerous condition (tracked in water here):

While a “defendant [is] not required to cover all of its floors with mats, nor to continuously mop up all moisture resulting from tracked-in rain” … , a defendant may be held liable for an injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition created by water tracked into a building if it either created the hazardous condition, or had actual or constructive notice of the condition and a reasonable time to undertake remedial action … .

To meet its burden on the issue of lack of constructive notice, a defendant is required to offer some evidence as to when the accident site was last cleaned or inspected prior to the plaintiff’s fall … .

Here, the defendant failed to establish, prima facie, that it did not have constructive notice of the alleged hazardous condition. Neither the affidavit of the defendant’s operations manager, nor the deposition testimony of the defendant’s asset protection manager established when the area where the plaintiff fell, or any of the entrances to the store, were last inspected in relation to the plaintiff’s fall.  Milorava v Lord & Taylor Holdings, LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 08390, 2nd Dept 11-18-15