ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER NOT LIABLE FOR HOLE IN BRICKWORK PUBLIC SIDEWALK IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined the abutting property-owner's summary judgment motion in this sidewalk slip and fall case was properly granted. There was no statute or ordinance which imposed liability and the defendant demonstrated it did not create the defect and did not cause the defect by a special use. The defendant owned a cafe and had tables near, but not on, the sidewalk:
The plaintiff allegedly sustained injuries when she tripped and fell after stepping into a hole in the brickwork portion of a public sidewalk … .
… [T]he Cafe demonstrated its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by establishing that it did not create the alleged defect in the brickwork, did not cause the alleged defect to occur because of a special use, and did not violate a statute or ordinance that would impose liability for failing to maintain the sidewalk. Moreover, the Cafe demonstrated, prima facie, that the placement of outdoor tables and chairs on the cement portion of the public sidewalk abutting the storefront was not a proximate cause of the plaintiff's alleged injuries … . Finocchiaro v Town of Islip, 2018 NY Slip Op 05915, Second Dept 8-29-18
NEGLIGENCE (ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER NOT LIABLE FOR HOLE IN BRICKWORK PUBLIC SIDEWALK IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (SECOND DEPT))/SLIP AND FALL (ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER NOT LIABLE FOR HOLE IN BRICKWORK PUBLIC SIDEWALK IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (SECOND DEPT))