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DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE ABSENCE OF CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONDITION OF THE STAIRWAY WHERE PLAINTIFF ALLEGEDLY SLIPPED AND FELL, HOWEVER DEFENDANT WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT BECAUSE PLAINTIFF COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FALL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the defendant did not demonstrate the absence of constructive notice of the condition of the stairway where plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell. Therefore defendant’s motion for summary judgment should not have granted on that ground. However, although Supreme Court didn’t rule on the issue, the Second Department held that defendant’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted because plaintiff could not identify the cause of the fall:

… [T]he defendant failed to establish, prima facie, that it did not have constructive notice of the alleged hazardous condition. While the deposition testimony of the premises’ caretaker demonstrated that the caretaker inspected and cleaned the subject stairwell on a regular basis, the defendant failed to present evidence regarding specific cleaning or inspection of the area in question relative to the time when the subject accident occurred … . Thus, the defendant was not entitled to summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that it established that it did not have notice of the alleged hazardous condition.

A defendant in a slip-and-fall case may also establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that the plaintiff cannot identify the cause of his or her fall without engaging in speculation … . Here, the defendant demonstrated its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting the plaintiff’s General Municipal Law § 50-h hearing and deposition transcripts, which demonstrated that he was unable to identify the cause of his fall without resorting to speculation … . In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in this regard … . Rodriguez v New York City Hous. Auth., 2019 NY Slip Op 01246, Second Dept 2-20-19

 

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