FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE CREATION-OF-THE-DEFECT THEORY OF RECOVERY REQUIRED DENIAL OF DEFENDANT-VILLAGE’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION.
The Second Department, in this slip and fall case, determined that the village’s failure to address plaintiff’s allegation that the village created the dangerous condition (a one-inch higher portion of a sidewalk) required the denial of the village’s motion for summary judgment. [Another example of a defense summary judgment motion which did not affirmatively address every possible theory of recovery.] The court explained the relevant law:
“[T]he prima facie showing which a defendant must make on a motion for summary judgment is governed by the allegations of liability made by the plaintiff in the pleadings” … . The bill of particulars alleged that the Village affirmatively created the dangerous condition which caused the accident. Therefore, in order to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, the Village had to demonstrate, prima facie, both that it did not have prior written notice of the defect, and that it did not create the defect … . The Village established, prima facie, that it did not have prior written notice of the defect, but it failed to establish, prima facie, that it did not affirmatively create the alleged defect … . Therefore, the burden never shifted to the plaintiff to submit evidence sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact. McManus v Klein, 2016 NY Slip Op 00704, 2nd Dept 2-3-16
NEGLIGENCE (LIABILITY ALLEGED UNDER COMMON-LAW NEGLIGENCE AND RES IPSA LOQUITUR, DEFENDANT’S FAILURE TO ADDRESS EVERY ELEMENT OF THOSE THEORIES REQUIRED DENIAL OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT)/RES IPSA LOQUITUR (DEFENDANT’S FAILURE TO ADDRESS EVERY ELEMENT RES IPSA LOQUITUR THEORY OF RECOVERY RREQUIRED DENIAL OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT)