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JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED ON THE RES IPSA LOQUITUR DOCTRINE AND INSTRUCTED THAT THE VIOLATION OF THE NYC ADMINISTRATIVE CODE IS SOME EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE IN THIS FALLING OBJECT CASE, NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court and ordering a new trial, determined the jury should have been instructed on the res ipsa loquitur doctrine and the violation of the NYC Administrative Code was some evidence of negligence. Plaintiff was allegedly injured when a towel dispenser/trash receptacle (TD/TR) fell out of the wall:

… [W]e find that the trial court improvidently exercised its discretion in declining to charge the jury on res ipsa loquitur. A res ipsa charge “merely permits the jury to infer negligence from the circumstances of the occurrence” … . The doctrine does not require “sole physical access to the instrumentality causing the injury” … . The trial court should also have charged that a violation of Administrative Code of the City of New York § 28-301.1, which requires property owners to maintain their buildings in a safe condition, constitutes “some evidence of negligence” … . To the extent that the TD/TR unit allegedly fell out of the wall eight months after installation by defendant John Spaccarelli, the court erred by failing to allow plaintiff to fully question the credentials of Mr. Spaccarelli and his qualifications as an expert … . Galue v Independence 270 Madison LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 03463, First Dept 6-18-20

 

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