THE LOBBY WAS MOPPED WITH A SOAP-LIKE SUBSTANCE AN HOUR BEFORE PLAINTIFF’S SLIP AND FALL AND PLAINTIFF TESTIFIED SHE NOTICED THE FLOOR WAS WET AND SMELLED OF CLEANING FLUID AFTER SHE FELL; THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT BUILDING OWNER CREATED THE DANGEROUS CONDITION (SECOND DEPT).

​The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined there was a question of fact whether defendant property owner created the dangerous condition which caused plaintiff’s slip and fall. The area had been mopped with a soap-like substance an hour before the fall and plaintiff testified she noticed the floor was wet and smelled of cleaning fluid after she fell:

… [D]efendant relied upon the deposition testimony of the plaintiff and of the defendant’s maintenance employee who was in charge of mopping the lobby. Their testimony demonstrated that the lobby area where the plaintiff fell had been mopped with a soap-like substance sometime during the hour preceding the plaintiff’s fall and that, after she fell, the plaintiff noticed that the floor was wet and smelled like a cleaning liquid. Given this evidence, the defendant failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether it created the condition that caused the plaintiff to fall … . Contrary to the defendant’s contention, its submissions failed to establish that the wet or oily condition of the floor was readily observable by a reasonable use of the plaintiff’s senses prior to her fall … . Buestan v Tiff Real Prop., Inc., 2023 NY Slip Op 03220, Second Dept 6-14-23

Practice Point: Evidence that the area of the slip and fall was mopped with soap an hour before plaintiff’s slip and fall and that plaintiff noticed the floor was wet and smelled of soap after her fall raised a question of fact whether the property owner created the dangerous condition which caused the fall.