ALTHOUGH THE LEASE DID NOT IMPOSE A DUTY ON THE TENANT TO MAINTAIN THE SIDEWALK, THE VILLAGE CODE DID; THE TENANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS SIDEWALK SLIP AND FALL CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant tenant’s (Invite Health’s) motion for summary judgment in this sidewalk slip and fall case should not have been granted. Although, under the lease, the tenant had no duty to maintain the sidewalk, the village code imposed that duty on owners and tenants:
Here, Code of the Village of New Hyde Park § 165-40.1 requires “owners, tenants or other persons occupying or entitled to the possession and control of any lands, whether vacant or improved” to, among other things, maintain the abutting public sidewalk “in a good state of repair and free and clear of any physical defects or other unsafe, hazardous or dangerous obstructions, encumbrances or conditions” and imposes joint and several liability upon them for injuries caused by their breach of that duty (see Code of the Village of New Hyde Park §§ 1-18, 165-40.1). Given the Code’s imposition of an obligation on a tenant or occupant to maintain an abutting public sidewalk, Invite Health, as a tenant and occupant of the abutting property, had a statutory duty to maintain the public sidewalk where the accident occurred (see Code of the Village of New Hyde Park §§ 1-18, 165-40.1 …) . As such, the mere fact that Invite Health had no duty under the lease agreement to maintain the abutting sidewalk was not dispositive of the issue of whether it owed the injured plaintiff a duty of care. Mule v Invite Health at New Hyde Park, Inc., 2020 NY Slip Op 00869, Second Dept 2-5-20