You are here: / / THE RAISED SIDEWALK FLAG WAS NOT A “TRIVIAL DEFECT” AS A MATTER...
, , ,

THE RAISED SIDEWALK FLAG WAS NOT A “TRIVIAL DEFECT” AS A MATTER OF LAW, YET PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEYS DID NOT SUBMIT WRITTEN OPPOSITION TO THE SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION IN THE SLIP AND FALL CASE WHICH WAS DISMISSED; PLAINTIFF THEREFORE RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT IN THIS LEGAL MALPRACTICE ACTION (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court in this legal malpractice action, determined there was a question of fact in the underlying slip and fall case which plaintiff’s attorneys could have, but failed to, raise. The raised sidewalk flag which caused plaintiff’s fall was not trivial as a matter of law, as the judge in the slip and fall case ruled. Plaintiff’s attorneys did not submit written opposition to the defendants’ summary judgment in the slip and fall case:

There is no “per se rule that a defect must be of a certain minimum height or depth in order to be actionable” (id. at 510). A “holding of triviality must be based on all the specific facts and circumstances of the case, not size alone” … . Thus, the “issue is generally a jury question because it is a fact-intensive inquiry” … .

Even assuming defendants met their initial burden of proof in showing that plaintiff could not prevail on her negligence claim, plaintiff raised an issue of fact in opposition. Plaintiff estimated that the elevation differential of the defect was an inch and a half or “a couple of inches” at the time of her accident, and the adjacent building’s superintendent testified that the elevation was about half an inch to one inch on the day of the accident. Administrative Code of the City of New York requires remediation for sidewalk flags with a height differential of one-half inch or more (see Administrative Code § 19-152[a][4]). Violation of that code is “not per se non-trivial . . . [but] is one factor to consider when deciding the issue of triviality” … . Barrett v Sacks & Sacks, LLP, 2025 NY Slip Op 02547, First Dept 4-29-25

Practice Point: Plaintiff’s attorneys could have successfully precluded summary judgment in the underlying slip and fall case but failed to submit written opposition to the summary judgment motion. That failure raised a question of fact in the instant legal malpractice action.

 

You might also like
A DEFENDANT WHO HAS WAIVED INDICTMENT CANNOT PLEAD GUILTY TO A SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION (SCI) WHICH INCLUDES AN OFFENSE GREATER THAN ANY CHARGED IN THE CORRESPONDING FELONY COMPLAINT (FIRST DEPT).
THE ELEMENT OF THE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF AMMUNITION STATUTE WHICH REQUIRES PROOF THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO POSSESS A PISTOL OR REVOLVER IS AN EXCEPTION, NOT A PROVISO; CONVICTION VACATED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE DESPITE LACK OF PRESERVATION (FIRST DEPT).
Criteria for the “Fiduciary Exception” to the Attorney-Client Privilege in the Context of a Derivative Action Explained
RESPONDENT IN THIS CUSTODY AND VISITATION PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE WHETHER SHE HAS STANDING TO ASSERT PARENTAL RIGHTS IS ENTITLED, PURSUANT TO DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW 237, TO ATTORNEY’S FEES PAID BY THE “MORE MONIED” PETITIONER; RESPONDENT WAS PROPERLY CONSIDERED TO BE A “PARENT” WITHIN THE MEANING OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW 237 FOR THE NARROW PURPOSE OF ENTITLEMENT TO ATTORNEY’S FEES AT THIS PRELIMINARY STAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS (FIRST DEPT).
Mother Demonstrated Relocation to Mississippi Was In Best Interest of Child, Job and Family Support Available
THE RESPONDENT IN THIS JUVENILE DELINQUENCY PROCEEDING WAS ENTITLED TO IMPEACHMENT EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE ARRESTING OFFICERS TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED UNDER CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW (CPL) 245.20 (FIRST DEPT).
DEFENDANT AND A WITNESS SAID THE LIGHT WAS RED, PLAINTIFF SAID THE LIGHT WAS GREEN, SUMMARY JUDGMENT IS PRECLUDED, CREDIBILTY CANNOT BE CONSIDERED (FIRST DEPT).
THE RELATION-BACK DOCTRINE APPLIES EVEN WHERE A NEW ACTION HAS BEEN COMMENCED AND CONSOLIDATED WITH A PRIOR ACTION (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

PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S LAWSUIT AGAINST DEFENDANT NURSING HOME, WHICH... TENANT WAS PRECLUDED FROM ASSERTING A CLAIM FOR BREACH OF THE COVENANT OF QUIET...