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THE COURT PARKING LOT WHERE PLAINTIFF ALLEGEDLY TRIPPED AND FELL WAS DEEMED TO BE THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF A SIDEWALK; THEREFORE THE STATUTE REQUIRING WRITTEN NOTICE OF A DANGEROUS SIDEWALK CONDITION AS A PREREQUISITE FOR COUNTY LIABILITY APPLIED; THE COUNTY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant county’s motion for summary judgment in this trip and fall case should have been granted. Plaintiff allegedly tripped over a section of rebar protruding from a concrete island in a court parking lot. Although parking lots are not explicitly mentioned in the statute requiring written notice of a dangerous condition as a prerequisite for the county’s liability, the Second Department held that the parking lot served the function of a sidewalk and therefore was subject to the written notice requirement:

The County has a prior written notice statute which provides, in relevant part, that “‘[n]o civil action shall be maintained against the County for damages or injuries to person or property sustained by reason of any sidewalk . . . unless written notice of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition of such sidewalk [is given] . . . [and s]uch written notice shall specify the particular place and nature of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition . . . [and that n]otice required to be given as herein provided shall be made in writing by certified or registered mail directed to the Office of the County Attorney'” … . * * *

The County demonstrated … that its prior written notice statute applied here because the concrete island with the protruding metal “served the same functional purpose as a sidewalk” … . The County further demonstrated, prima facie, that it lacked prior written notice of the alleged defect.  Sanchez v County of Nassau, 2023 NY Slip Op 06270, Second Dept 12-6-23

Practice Point: Here the statute required written notice of a dangerous condition on a sidewalk before the county could be liable for a slip or trip and fall. The plaintiff tripped in a county parking lot. The parking lot was deemed the functional equivalent of a sidewalk, triggering the written-notice requirement.

 

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