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
“Crime-Fraud” Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Re: Studies Funded by Defendant Casting Doubt on Relationship Between Asbestos and Cancer
A VERDICT FINDING DEFENDANT GUILTY OF GRAND LARCENY BUT NOT GUILTY OF POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY WOULD NOT BE REPUGNANT; INSTRUCTING THE JURY OTHERWISE WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR.
Failure to Make Clear in the Jury Instructions that the Acquittal on the Top Count Based Upon the Justification Defense Required Acquittal on the Lesser Counts As Well Rendered the Verdict “Ambiguous”—New Trial Ordered in the Interest of Justice
FEDERAL CONVICTION FOR FAILING TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER WAS NOT A QUALIFYING OFFENSE FOR A SORA RISK ANALYSIS; THEREFORE DEFENDANT WAS NOT ENTITLED TO A 15 POINT REDUCTION BECAUSE HE WAS SUBJECT TO POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION FOR THE FEDERAL OFFENSE.
“Professional” Standard of Care Can Be Required Based Solely on Nature of Services Provided
IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE POSSESSION OF THE MORTGAGE, AS OPPOSED TO THE NOTE, AT THE TIME OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF A FORECLOSURE ACTION, EVIDENCE ADMISSIBLE UNDER THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT ABOUT PLAINTIFF’S STANDING (FIRST DEPT).
THE BUILDING OWNER HAD, BY CONTRACT, RELINQUISHED ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ELEVATOR MAINTENANCE TO DEFENDANT AMERICAN ELEVATOR AND WAS THEREFORE NOT LIABLE FOR THE ALLEGED ELEVATOR MALFUNCTION; THE PLAINTIFF ALLEGED THE INNER GATE CLOSED ON HER SHOULDER, PINNING HER, AND THE ELEVATOR THEN DESCENDED; A QUESTION OF FACT PURSUANT TO THE RES IPSA LOQUITUR DOCTRINE WAS RAISED (FIRST DEPT). ​
STORE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS ESCALATOR SLIP AND FALL CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED BASED UPON PROOF OF REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTIONS AND NO REPORTS OF ACCIDENTS OR PROBLEMS (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 PROBATION CONDITION PROHIBITING DEFENDANT FROM USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION... PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL ON A WET SPOT ON THE MARBLE FLOOR IN THE CONDOMINIUM...