You are here: / / THE WORN MARBLE STAIRWAY TREAD WAS NOT AN ACTIONABLE DEFECT; DEFENDANT...
,

THE WORN MARBLE STAIRWAY TREAD WAS NOT AN ACTIONABLE DEFECT; DEFENDANT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS STAIRWAY SLIP AND FALL CASE (FIRST DEPT).

he First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant property-owner (Marion) was entitled to summary judgment in this stairway slip and fall case. Defendant demonstrated it did not have actual or constructive notice of any defective condition on the stairs:

Marion demonstrated prima facie that the worn marble tread depicted in the photographs taken by plaintiff is not an actionable defect … . Plaintiff and Marion’s superintendent testified that the photographs taken by plaintiff accurately reflected the condition of the stair on the day of the accident, and there is no claim that the stair was wet, slippery, or covered with debris. Moreover, Marion’s expert opined that the accident could not have occurred as plaintiff described because when she fell, her left foot was in the middle of the tread rather than on the right-hand side where the worn condition she cited was located.

Marion also demonstrated that it did not have actual or constructive notice of a defective condition on the stair in that the superintendent testified that there were no complaints and no violations had been issued with respect to the stair. He stated that he swept the stairs five days and mopped three days a week, and that the photographs accurately depicted the condition of the stair on the day of the accident. Plaintiff’s complaints to the prior superintendent about the general condition of the stairs was insufficient to constitute notice of the specific condition cited by plaintiff as the cause of her fall … .

In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to Marion’s negligence. The opinion of her expert cited numerous dangerous conditions on the stairs and in the stairway, but plaintiff did not cite any of them as a proximate cause of her accident … . James v Chestnut Holdings of N.Y., Inc., 2024 NY Slip Op 06656, First Dept 12-31-24

Practice Point: Here, in this stairway slip and fall case, a worn tread in a marble stairway did not constitute an actionable defect.

 

You might also like
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN LIEU OF COMPLAINT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED BECAUSE REFERENCE TO EXTRINSIC EVIDENCE WAS REQUIRED; STATUTE OF FRAUDS DID NOT REQUIRE DISMISSAL BECAUSE IT WAS ALLEGED THERE WAS NEW CONSIDERATION FOR THE PROMISE TO PAY THE DEBT OF ANOTHER (FIRST DEPT).
Inconsistent Responses to Special-Verdict Interrogatories Required Resubmission to the Jury or a New Trial
DEFENDANT INSURER DID NOT TIMELY DISCLAIM COVERAGE AND IS THEREFORE OBLIGATED TO DEFEND THE INSURED; A DISCLAIMER-NOTIFICATION MUST BE SPECIFIC AND UNAMBIGUOUS (FIRST DEPT).
THE JURY’S FINDING THAT PLAINTIFF IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE WAS NEGLIGENT BUT THAT DEFENDANT WAS 100% RESPONSIBLE WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE; ALLOWING PLAINTIFF’S DOCTOR TO TESTIFY DEFENDANT’S DOCTOR WAS HIRED BY AN INSURANCE COMPANY, WITHOUT GIVING A CURATIVE INSTRUCTION, WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR (FIRST DEPT).
COLLEGE ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED PH.D STUDENT’S LEARNING DISABILITY, STUDENT WAS PROPERLY TERMINATED FROM THE PROGRAM UPON FAILURE OF AN EXAM (FIRST DEPT).
IN A SLIP AND FALL CASE, WHETHER THE CONDITION IS OPEN AND OBVIOUS SPEAKS TO COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE AND THE PROPERTY OWNER’S DUTY TO WARN, BUT DOES NOT SPEAK TO PROXIMATE CAUSE OR NEGLIGENCE; HERE THE IRREGULARLY-SHAPED LANDING AND ABSENCE OF A HANDRAIL VIOLATED THE CITY BUILDING CODE; DEFENDANTS’ SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
NYU DID NOT ACT ARBITRARILY AND CAPRICIOUSLY WHEN IT SUSPENDED THREE STUDENTS FOR ATTENDING OFF-CAMPUS ROOFTOP PARTIES IN AUGUST 2020 WHERE THE ATTENDEES DID NOT WEAR MASKS AND DID NOT PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING (FIRST DEPT).
PARTIES HAD CONSENTED TO PROCEDURES WHICH DEVIATED FROM THE CPLR, SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS, ALTHOUGH UNTIMELY UNDER THE CPLR, SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEEMED TIMELY (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 © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE PROBATION CONDITION PROHIBITING DEFENDANT FROM USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION... PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL ON A WET SPOT ON THE MARBLE FLOOR IN THE CONDOMINIUM...