THE TRACKED IN WATER WAS NOT ACTIONABLE; DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE WAS PROPERLY GRANTED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined defendant’s motion for summary judgment in this slip and fall case was properly granted. Plaintiff was unable to demonstrate that the source of the water on which she slipped and fell was not simply tracked in rain, which was not actionable. The floor in question was temporary flooring used in a tent set up for a graduation ceremony:

We reject plaintiff’s contention that defendant failed to properly inspect the premises, or that its use of rubber mats on some portions of the flooring demonstrates that it failed to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition. Although defendant placed rubber mats on the flooring near the stage toward the front of the tent, the security director explained that those mats were intended to assist the graduates in approaching, crossing and leaving the stage, which was elevated and located on an incline. Plaintiff further notes that defendant chose to use two tent walls and to leave the other sides open, but she did not demonstrate that any water allegedly present on the walkway originated from those open sides, rather than having been tracked in. Nor did plaintiff establish that the subsequent placement by defendant’s staff of a mat in the area of her fall constituted notice of a dangerous condition. Property owners are not “‘required to cover all of [their] floors with mats, nor to continuously mop up all moisture resulting from tracked-in rain'” … . Further, even assuming that water was present on the temporary flooring at issue, “the mere fact that a floor or walkway becomes slippery when wet does not establish a dangerous condition” … . Van Duser v Mount St. Mary Coll., 2019 NY Slip Op 07824, Third Dept 10-31-19