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TO WARRANT SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN A SLIP AND FALL CASE BASED ON LACK OF NOTICE OF THE CONDITION, A DEFENDANT MUST PROVE WHEN THE SPECIFIC AREA OF THE FALL WAS LAST CLEANED OR INSPECTED; PROOF OF GENERAL CLEANING PRACTICES IS NOT ENOUGH (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this slip and fall case, determined the defendant hospital did not demonstrate a lack of constructive notice of the water on the floor in front of the elevator. To warrant summary judgment the defendant must show that the area of the slip and fall was inspected or cleaned close in time to the fall. Evidence of general cleaning practices is not enough:

… [T]he defendant failed to establish, prima facie, that it did not have constructive notice of the alleged condition that caused the plaintiff to fall. The deposition testimony of the defendant’s security manager and of another employee of the defendant merely referred to the general cleaning and inspection practices at the hospital. The defendant did not proffer any evidence demonstrating when the specific area where the plaintiff fell was last cleaned or inspected before the accident … . Delfino v Montefiore Nyack Hosp., 2025 NY Slip Op 04082, Second Dept 7-9-25

Same issue and result in Freeman v New York City Hous. Auth., 2025 NY Slip op 04086, 7-9-25 Second Dept

Practice Point: A defendant seeking to prove it did not have constructive notice of the condition which caused a slip and fall must prove the area of the fall was cleaned or inspected close in time to the fall. Proof of general cleaning practices will not suffice.

 

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