You are here: / / THE QUESTION WHETHER THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF PLAINTIFF IN DEFENDANT GYM’S...
, ,

THE QUESTION WHETHER THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF PLAINTIFF IN DEFENDANT GYM’S STEAM ROOM WAS FORESEEABLE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DECIDED AGAINST THE PLAINTIFF AS A MATTER OF LAW; THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF PRIOR SIMILAR ASSAULTS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined there were questions of fact about the foreseeability of the underlying incident, an alleged sexual assault in the steam room at defendant Equinox’s gym, which precluded summary judgment. Although Equinox had no prior notice with respect to the person who allegedly assaulted plaintiff, there was evidence Equinox was aware of other similar incidents in the steam room:

The Court of Appeals has “repeatedly emphasized” that “[o]nly in rare cases” can questions concerning foreseeability be decided as a matter of law … . * * *

Here, the motion court determined that plaintiff’s alleged attack was not foreseeable because “the ‘notice’ plaintiff relies upon concerns other alleged incidents in the steam room, none of which involved plaintiff’s assailant” and that “some of the other incidents]appear to involve consensual behavior.” New York courts, however, have never required prior incidents to have been committed by the same assailant or even be of the same type of conduct to which the plaintiff was subjected … . … [A]t least three of the other gym members reported that they had been sexually harassed, including the member who complained mere weeks before the assault on plaintiff … .

The motion court additionally found that, even if defendants did have a duty to plaintiff to prevent his alleged assault, “they met their duty to implement reasonable policies to decrease the likelihood of such an incident” and plaintiff failed to present a material issue of fact “with respect to these policies and procedures.”  * * *

We find that whether plaintiff’s alleged assault was foreseeable to Equinox and whether Equinox implemented adequate security measures to decrease the likelihood of such incidents are questions of fact and plaintiff’s negligence claim should advance to a jury trial. We cannot say, as a matter of law, that another gym member allegedly assaulting plaintiff against the backdrop of multiple complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct inside the steam room was “extraordinary under the circumstances or not foreseeable in the normal course of events” … . Crandall v Equinox Holdings, Inc., 2024 NY Slip Op 04902, First Dept 10-8-24

Practice Point: Whether an injury to plaintiff was foreseeable from defendant’s perspective can rarely be decided as a matter of law.

 

You might also like
THE PROMISE TO REPAY THE LOAN WAS NOT UNCONDITIONAL BUT RATHER THE DEFENDANT’S HAVING AVAILABLE CASH TO REPAY THE LOAN WAS A CONDITION PRECEDENT, BECAUSE PLAINTIFF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE DEFENDANT HAD AVAILABLE CASH, ITS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
DEFENDANT’S ACTIONS UPON SEEING THE POLICE IN A HOUSING AUTHORITY BUILDING FREQUENTED BY TRESPASSERS JUSTIFIED INITIAL QUESTIONING; REMAND OF PRIOR CONVICTION FOR YOUTHFUL OFFENDER DETERMINATION DID NOT ALTER DATE OF THAT CONVICTION FOR PREDICATE-FELONY PURPOSES.
Post-Conviction Review of Redacted Portions of Officer’s Notes Ordered.
Wife’s Derivative Claim Added to Complaint After Expiration of Statute of Limitations
DEFENDANTS’ ATTORNEYS HAD APPARENT AUTHORITY TO BIND DEFENDANTS TO THE OPEN-COURT STIPULATED SETTLEMENT OF $8,875,000; IN ADDITION, DEFENDANTS RATIFIED THE STIPULATION BY FAILING TO TIMELY OBJECT TO IT (FIRST DEPT).
Error to Impeach Defendant Re: Failure to Offer Exculpatory Version to Police; Error to Comment on Defendant’s Post-Arrest Silence (Harmless However)
DISAGREEING WITH THE THIRD DEPARTMENT, THE SECOND DEPARTMENT HELD THAT A PREHEARING DENIAL OF AN APPLICATION FOR RESENTENCING UNDER THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS JUSTICE ACT (DVSJA) IS APPEALABLE; HERE DEFENDANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE A SUFFICIENT NEXUS BETWEEN THE ABUSE HE SUFFERED WHILE LIVING WITH HIS FAMILY AND THE STABBING OF A STRANGER AFTER HE HAD LEFT HOME (FIRST DEPT).
SNATCHING A PURSE DANGLING FROM THE VICTIM’S ARM DID NOT INVOVLE THE PHYSICAL FORCE NECESSARY FOR ROBBERY THIRD, RENDERING THE CONVICTION AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE; REDUCED TO PETIT LARCENY (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE CONTRACT PROVISIONS MANDATING ARBITRATION WERE PROPERLY ENFORCED BY SUPREME... THE FACT THAT A MORTGAGE IS MERELY INSURED BY HUD OR THE FHA DOES NOT MAKE THE...