You are here: / / PLAINTIFF TRIPPED OVER AN EMPTY MILK CRATE ON A CARPETED FLOOR; THE CONDITION...
,

PLAINTIFF TRIPPED OVER AN EMPTY MILK CRATE ON A CARPETED FLOOR; THE CONDITION WAS DEEMED “OPEN AND OBVIOUS” AS A MATTER OF LAW ENTITLING DEFENDANTS TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants were entitled to summary judgment in this slip and fall case on the ground the empty milk crate plaintiff tripped over was an “open and obvious” condition:

The accident occurred in the morning, during one of the plaintiff’s usual daytime shifts. As the plaintiff was walking in a hallway with carpeting she described as “reddish, green-ish . . . earth colors,” she tripped on an empty, black milk crate. By all accounts, the milk crate was an ordinary milk crate and it was not attached to the floor in any way … . * * *

… [T]he hotel defendants established … the empty milk crate was open and obvious, as it was readily observable by those employing the reasonable use of their senses, and was not inherently dangerous under all the existing circumstances … . Raspberry v Best W. JFK Airport Hotel, 2025 NY Slip Op 04264, Second Dept 7-23-25

Practice Point: This decision presents a rare example of a condition which caused a trip and fall, i.e. an empty milk crate on a carpeted floor, deemed “open and obvious” as a matter of law.​

 

You might also like
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE ‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’ STANDARD APPLIES TO THIS POLICE-CAR TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE (SECOND DEPT).
Authenticity of Document Not Demonstrated
PLAINTIFF INJURED WHEN CHAIR IN CUSTODIAN’S BREAK ROOM COLLAPSED, SCHOOL DEMONSTRATED IT DID NOT HAVE NOTICE OF THE DANGEROUS CONDITION AND RES IPSA LOQUITUR DID NOT APPLY BECAUSE THE CHAIR WAS DEEMED NOT TO BE IN THE EXCLUSIVE CONTROL OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT (SECOND DEPT).
DEFENDANT WAS REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM WHEN HE DISRUPTED THE PROCEEDINGS AS THE GUILTY VERDICT WAS BEING DELIVERED; DEFENDANT SHOULD FIRST HAVE BEEN WARNED THAT HE WOULD BE REMOVED IF HE CONTINUED TO DISRUPT THE PROCEEDINGS; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).
ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT CORPORATION WAS NOT PERSONALLY SERVED WITH THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT, SUPREME COURT DID NOT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION IN REFUSING TO VACATE THE DEFAULT JUDGMENT, DEFENDANT DID NOT ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN ITS CLAIM THAT NOTICE BY MAIL WAS NOT RECEIVED (SECOND DEPT).
THE CRIMINAL LAW DEFINITION OF SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY IS NOT THE STANDARD FOR ABUSE IN FAMILY COURT, THE STANDARD IS ‘CREATING A SUBSTANTIAL RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY’ (SECOND DEPT).
SERVICE OF CLAIM BY REGULAR MAIL VIOLATED COURT OF CLAIMS ACT SECTION 11, CLAIM PROPERLY DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
DESPITE MOTHER’S VIOLATION OF SIX CONDITIONS OF A SUSPENDED JUDGMENT, TERMINATING HER PARENTAL RIGHTS WAS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF HER SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD (SECOND 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 JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE DELEGATED ITS AUTHORITY TO SET A SCHEDULE FOR MOTHER’S... PLAINTIFF, A DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED STUDENT, WAS KNOCKED OVER BY ANOTHER STUDENT;...