SIDEWALK DEFECT TOO TRIVIAL TO BE ACTIONABLE.

The Third Department determined defendant's motion for summary judgment in a slip and fall case was properly granted.  Defendant's demonstrated the defect in the sidewalk was trivial and the plaintiff's expert did not identify any relevant code, standard, or accepted-practice violation:

A property owner “'may not be cast in damages for negligent maintenance by reason of trivial defects on a walkway, not constituting a trap or nuisance, as a consequence of which a pedestrian might merely stumble, stub his [or her] toes, or trip over a raised projection'” … . “Whether a defect is so trivial to preclude liability depends on the particular facts of each case and requires consideration of such relevant factors as the dimensions of the alleged defect and the circumstances surrounding the injury, including the width, depth, elevation, irregularity, and appearance of the defect as well as the time, place and circumstances of the injury” … .

* * * Photographs of the portion of the sidewalk at issue demonstrate that it is relatively smooth and show only a slight height differential between the adjacent slabs of concrete, which were of different shades. Such evidence satisfied defendant's initial burden of making a prima facie showing that any alleged defect in the sidewalk was too trivial to be actionable … . Chirumbolo v 78 Exch. St., LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 01537, 3rd Dept 3-3-16

NEGLIGENCE (SIDEWALK DEFECT TRIVIAL)/SLIP AND FALL (SIDEWALK DEFECT TRIVIAL)/TRIVIAL DEFECT (SIDEWALK DEFECT TOO TRIVIAL TO BE ACTIONABLE)