STACKED BOXES NOT AN OPEN AND OBVIOUS CONDITION AS A MATTER OF LAW IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE; TENANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY DENIED; LANDLORD DID NOT DEMONSTRATE IT WAS AN OUT-OF-POSSESSION LANDLORD; HOWEVER, LANDLORD ESTABLISHED IT DID NOT CREATE OR HAVE NOTICE OF THE CONDITION (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court determined the landlord did not demonstrate it was an out-of-possession landlord in this slip and fall case. But the landlord did demonstrate it did not create of have notice of the stacked boxes which allegedly caused plaintiff’s slip and fall. The stacked boxes did not constitute an open and obvious condition as a matter of law:
The evidence submitted by the tenant in support of its motion, including, inter alia, the plaintiff’s deposition testimony regarding the accident, failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether the stacked boxes constituted an open and obvious condition, and whether the stacked boxes constituted an inherently dangerous condition. The evidence likewise failed to establish, prima facie, that the tenant did not create or have notice of the condition. …
… [T]he landlord defendants’ submissions failed to establish, prima facie, that they were out-of-possession landlords. The copy of the lease the landlord defendants submitted was illegible, and the deposition testimony … failed to establish, prima facie, that the landlord defendants had relinquished control over the premises to such a degree as to extinguish their duty to maintain the premise … .
… [T]he landlord defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that they did not create the alleged hazardous condition or have actual or constructive notice of the condition … . Robbins v 237 Ave. X, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 08237, Second Dept 11-13-19