IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE, DEFENDANTS DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE WHEEL STOP, WHICH HAD BEEN MOVED FROM ITS POSITION AT THE TOP OF THE PARKING SPACE, WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the defendants in this slip and fall case did not demonstrate the wheel stop which was an open and obvious condition that was not inherently dangerous. The wheel stop had been moved from its normal position at the top of a parking space. Plaintiff tripped over it after getting out of her car and taking a few steps while looking toward the store:

A landowner has a duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition … . There is, however, no duty to protect or warn against conditions that are open and obvious and not inherently dangerous … . “Proof that a dangerous condition is open and obvious does not preclude a finding of liability against an owner for failure to maintain property in a safe condition” … . “The determination of whether an asserted hazard is open and obvious cannot be divorced from the surrounding circumstances, and whether a condition is not inherently dangerous, or constitutes a reasonably safe environment, depends on the totality of the specific facts of each case” … . Brett v AJ 1086 Assoc., LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 07532, Second Dept 12-16-20