FACT THAT DEFENDANT CONTRACTOR HAD BEEN ISSUED A PERMIT FOR DRILLING IN THE STREET DID NOT RAISE A QUESTION OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THE CONTRACTOR CREATED A DEFECT IN THE SIDEWALK IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the contractor’s motion for summary judgment in this sidewalk slip and fall case should have been granted. The contractor presented evidence it did no work on the sidewalk. The fact that a permit for drilling on the street had been issued to the contractor did not raise a question of fact:
The plaintiff allegedly was injured when he tripped on a raised sidewalk flag. He commenced this personal injury action against, among others, the defendant Craig Geotechnical Drilling Co., Inc. (hereinafter Craig Drilling), a contractor, alleging that it was negligent in, among other things, creating the allegedly dangerous condition that caused the accident. …
A contractor may be liable for an affirmative act of negligence which results in the creation of a dangerous condition upon a public street or sidewalk … . Here, Craig Drilling demonstrated its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by presenting evidence that it performed no work in the area of the raised sidewalk flag prior to the subject accident … . In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether Craig Drilling created or exacerbated the raised sidewalk flag. Under the circumstances of this case, the mere fact that a permit had been issued to Craig Drilling to perform work on the street was insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether Craig Drilling created or exacerbated the raised sidewalk flag … . Sindoni v City of New York, 2019 NY Slip Op 06110, Second Dept 8-7-19
