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QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF A DANGEROUS CONDITION, WHETHER THE ALLEGED DEFECT WAS TRIVIAL, AND PROXIMATE CAUSE PRECLUDED SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined there were questions of fact about the existence of a dangerous condition. whether the defect was trivial, and proximate cause in this slip and fall case. Plaintiff allegedly fell after stepping on a loose piece of asphalt from the driveway outside her apartment:

Plaintiff testified at her deposition that she “stepped on a piece of the driveway” that was “maybe the size of a tennis ball if you were to cut it in half and it was flat.” Plaintiff did not photograph or preserve the piece of asphalt that allegedly caused her to fall, however, and we conclude that her testimony created an issue of fact whether the alleged defect on the property was “trivial and nonactionable as a matter of law” … . Inasmuch as plaintiff failed to establish that defendant was negligent in permitting a dangerous or defective condition to exist on the premises, she also “failed to establish as a matter of law that [defendant’s negligence] was the sole proximate cause of the accident” … . …

… [Plaintiff ‘s own] deposition testimony that she “didn’t really pay attention” to the driveway or the surrounding area prior to the accident raised an issue of fact whether plaintiff’s conduct was a proximate cause of the accident inasmuch as she walked down the porch stairway onto uneven ground in the middle of the night without using due care … . Jackson v Rumpf, 2019 NY Slip Op 08291, Fourth Dept 11-15-19

 

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