PLAINTIFF DID NOT ALLEGE THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIGN POST STUMP OVER WHICH SHE TRIPPED AND FELL, THE FALL OCCURRED WITHIN THE 15-DAY GRACE PERIOD FOR THE NOTICE THE CITY DID RECEIVE, COMPLAINT PROPERLY DISMISSED.
The First Department determined plaintiff’s action against the city in this slip and fall case was properly dismissed. Plaintiff did not allege the city had prior written notice of the sign post stump in the sidewalk, and the 15-day grace period for the notice which the city did receive had not expired at the time of plaintiff’s fall:
Plaintiff alleges that, as she was exiting a bus, she tripped and fell over the stump of a pole sign protruding about three to four inches from the sidewalk near the bus stop. The City met its prima facie burden by showing that plaintiff did not plead that the City received prior written notice of the sidewalk defect as required by Administrative Code of City of NY § 7-201(c)(2) … .
The City also submitted evidence showing the absence of prior written notice; that the sign was in good condition two years before the accident; that the City received a citizen complaint through 311 less than 15 days before plaintiff’s accident; and that it repaired the condition a few days after her accident. The complaint received before the accident, even if it were in writing, could not constitute prior written notice for purposes of the statute, since it was received within the 15-day grace period provided by the statute for the City to make repairs after receiving notice … .
… Plaintiff failed to demonstrate either that she pled prior written notice or that the 311 complaint received by the City within the 15-day grace period constitutes such notice. Plaintiff’s contention that the City affirmatively created the condition by removing the sign from the sleeve is unsupported by any evidence. Brown v City of New York, 2017 NY Slip Op 04221, 1st Dept 5-30-17
MUNICIPAL LAW (SLIP AND FALL, WRITTEN NOTICE OF DEFECT, PLAINTIFF DID NOT ALLEGE THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIGN POST STUMP OVER WHICH SHE TRIPPED AND FELL, THE FALL OCCURRED WITHIN THE 15-DAY GRACE PERIOD FOR THE NOTICE THE CITY DID RECEIVE)/NEGLIGENCE (MUNICIPAL LAW, SLIP AND FALL, WRITTEN NOTICE OF DEFECT, PLAINTIFF DID NOT ALLEGE THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIGN POST STUMP OVER WHICH SHE TRIPPED AND FELL, THE FALL OCCURRED WITHIN THE 15-DAY GRACE PERIOD FOR THE NOTICE THE CITY DID RECEIVE)/SIDEWALKS (MUNICIPAL LAW, SLIP AND FALL, WRITTEN NOTICE OF DEFECT, PLAINTIFF DID NOT ALLEGE THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIGN POST STUMP OVER WHICH SHE TRIPPED AND FELL, THE FALL OCCURRED WITHIN THE 15-DAY GRACE PERIOD FOR THE NOTICE THE CITY DID RECEIVE)/WRITTEN NOTICE REQUIREMENT (MUNICIPAL LAW, SLIP AND FALL, PLAINTIFF DID NOT ALLEGE THE CITY HAD WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE SIGN POST STUMP OVER WHICH SHE TRIPPED AND FELL, THE FALL OCCURRED WITHIN THE 15-DAY GRACE PERIOD FOR THE NOTICE THE CITY DID RECEIVE)