MERCHANDISE RACK IN THE AISLE OF DEFENDANT STORE WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined a merchandise rack in the aisle of defendant store was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous:
[Plaintiff] commenced this action … to recover damages for personal injuries she allegedly sustained when she fell at the defendants’ department store in Yonkers, while attempting to walk past a merchandise rack situated in one of the aisles. …
“A landowner has a duty to maintain his or her premises in a reasonably safe manner”… . “However, there is no duty to protect or warn against an open and obvious condition which, as a matter of law, is not inherently dangerous” … . Here, the defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence, including the decedent’s deposition testimony, demonstrating that the merchandise rack in the aisle was both open and obvious and that it was not inherently dangerous … . Nannariello v Kohl’s Dept. Stores, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 03689, Second Dept 5-23-18
NEGLIGENCE (SLIP AND FALL, MERCHANDISE RACK IN THE AISLE OF DEFENDANT STORE WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS (SECOND DEPT))/SLIP AND FALL (MERCHANDISE RACK IN THE AISLE OF DEFENDANT STORE WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS (SECOND DEPT))/OPEN AND OBVIOUS (SLIP AND FALL, MERCHANDISE RACK IN THE AISLE OF DEFENDANT STORE WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS (SECOND DEPT))