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THE BUILDING DEFENDANTS DEMONSTRATED THE AREA WHERE PLAINTIFF ALLEGED SHE SLIPPED AND FELL ON WATER ON THE FLOOR WAS INSPECTED AND FOUND TO BE DRY CLOSE IN TIME TO THE ALLEGED FALL; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the affidavit of a building porter stating that the area where plaintiff slipped and fell was dry when he inspected shortly before the alleged fall warranted granting defendants’ summary judgment motion. Plaintiff alleged she slipped and fell on water ono the floor:

…[T]the defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that they did not create the hazardous condition or have actual or constructive notice of it. In support of the motion, the defendants submitted a transcript of the deposition testimony and affidavit of the building’s porter, which established that, shortly before the accident, the porter traversed the hallway where the accident occurred, inspected the floor for wetness, and observed that the floor was dry … . Serebrenik v Chelsea Apts., LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 04658, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: When a defendant brings a summary judgment motion in a slip and fall case, the motion papers must demonstrate the defendant did not create the alleged dangerous condition and did not have notice of the alleged dangerous condition. If defendant can show the area was inspected close in time to the fall and the area was clean (or dry in this case), the defendant will have demonstrated a lack of constructive notice of the condition. Absent evidence to the contrary presented in opposition, summary judgment in favor of the defendant is warranted.

 

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THE PRINCIPAL WITNESS AGAINST DEFENDANT IN THIS FIRST DEGREE MURDER (MURDER-FOR-HIRE) TRIAL WAS AN ACCOMPLICE AS A MATTER OF LAW; IT WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR TO FAIL TO SO INSTRUCT THE JURY; ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED, IT WAS CONSIDERED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE; THE DEFENDANT’S ALLEGED SILENCE IN RESPONSE TO AN ACCUSATION (ADOPTIVE ADMISSION) WAS INADMISSIBLE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE DID NOT PROVE DEFENDANT HEARD THE ACCUSATION (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s murder-first-degree conviction and ordering a new trial, determined the jury should have been instructed that the defendant’s paramour, Lovell, who was involved the plot to have the victim killed by a third-party, and who testified against the defendant at trial, was an accomplice as a matter of law. Despite defense counsel’s failure to preserve the error, the issue was considered on appeal in the interest of justice. The Second Department also held that the “adoptive admission” by the defendant should not have been admitted in evidence. It was alleged the defendant remained silent when her mother-in-law accused her of killing the victim. The People did not prove defendant actually heard the accusation:

Supreme Court failed to instruct the jury that Lovell was an accomplice and subject to the statutory corroboration requirement. Although the court was “under a duty to charge . . . even without a request from the defendant … , the rule of preservation requires that defense counsel object to the court’s failure in order to preserve a question of law for appellate review … . Notwithstanding defense counsel’s failure to object at trial, under the circumstances of this case, we reach the unpreserved error in the interest of justice and find that the failure to properly instruct the jury constituted reversible error … …. [T]he evidence of the defendant’s guilt, which consisted principally of Lovell’s testimony, was not overwhelming … . * * *

“To use a defendant’s silence or evasive response as evidence against the defendant, the People must demonstrate that the defendant heard and understood the assertion, and reasonably would have been expected to deny it” … . Here, the People failed to establish that the defendant actually heard the mother-in-law’s accusations or that the defendant had an opportunity to respond to the accusations prior to the mother-in-law disconnecting the phone call. Therefore, the court should not have admitted the evidence. People v Noel, 2022 NY Slip Op 04647, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: The testimony of defendant’s paramour, who was involved in the murder-for-hire, was the principal evidence against the defendant. The failure to instruct the jury that the paramour was an accomplice as a matter of law whose testimony must be corroborated was reversible error. Although the error was not preserved the Second Department considered it ion appeal in the interest of justice. The defendant’s silence in the face of an accusation (an adoptive admission) should not have been admitted in evidence because the People did not prove the defendant heard the accusation.

 

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ALTHOUGH THE STEP WAS MARKED AND THERE WAS A WARNING SIGN, THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE STEP AND THE SIGN COULD NOT BE SEEN WHEN THE AREA WAS CROWDED; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS STAIR-FALL CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this stair-fall case should not have been granted. Although there was evidence the single step in defendant’s nightclub was marked and there was a warning sign, there was also evidence the area was crowded, obscuring the step and the sign:

… [T]he defendants’ submissions demonstrated that the single-step riser was located between the dance floor and another area of the premises, such that persons exiting the dance floor in that direction would traverse the area where the step was located and a crowd could form, obscuring both a warning sign which was below eye level, and the step which was painted white. The plaintiff testified at her deposition that the premises were crowded, and that she did not see the step or the paint on the step. Another witness testified at her deposition that the premises were so crowded that the witness could not see the floor. Kernell v Five Dwarfs, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 04624, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: Here the step where plaintiff allegedly fell was marked and there was a warning sign. But there was evidence that when this area of defendants’ nightclub was crowded neither the step nor the sign could be seen. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this stair-fall case should not have been granted.

 

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THE BANK IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION DID NOT DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH RPAPL 1303 WHICH REQUIRES THE NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE TO USE SPECIFIC TYPE SIZES AND A PAPER-COLOR DIFFERENT FROM THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT; THE BANK’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff  bank in this foreclosure action did not demonstrate strict compliance with RPRL 1303, which requires that the notice of foreclosure use certain sizes of type and a different color paper:

RPAPL 1303 requires that a notice titled “Help for Homeowners in Foreclosure” be delivered to the mortgagor along with the summons and complaint in residential foreclosure actions involving owner-occupied, one- to four-family dwellings (see RPAPL 1303[1],[3] …). The statute mandates that the notice be in bold, 14-point type and printed on colored paper that is other than the color of the summons and complaint, and that the title of the notice be in bold, 20-point type (see RPAPL 1303[2]). Proper service of an RPAPL 1303 notice is a condition precedent to commencing a foreclosure action, and the plaintiff has the burden of showing compliance with the statute … . Bank of N.Y. Mellon v McCaffrey, 2022 NY Slip Op 04619, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: In a foreclosure action, the bank’s strict compliance with the notice requirements in the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) is a condition precedent for the action. Here the bank did not demonstrate that the notice of foreclosure complied with RPAPL 1303 which requires certain type sizes and a paper-color different from that of the summons and complaint. The bank’s motion for summary judgment should not have been granted.

 

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THE BANK’S PROOF THAT THE RPAPL 1304 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE WAS MAILED TO THE DEFENDANTS WAS INSUFFICIENT; THE BANK’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff bank did not demonstrate compliance with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 and therefore should not have been awarded summary judgment in this foreclosure action:

The affidavits of Daphne Proctor, Theresa Robertson, and April Martin, all of whom were document execution specialists employed by Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (hereinafter Nationstar), the plaintiff’s loan servicer, were insufficient to establish that the plaintiff complied with RPAPL 1304. Proctor, Robertson, and Martin attested that they were familiar with Nationstar’s records and record-keeping practices, but they failed to attest that they personally mailed the notices or that they were familiar with the mailing practices and procedures of Nationstar. Moreover, Martin attested that the plaintiff mailed the notices, but neither she nor Proctor or Robertson attested that they were familiar with the plaintiff’s mailing practices and procedures. Therefore, they failed to establish proof of a standard office practice and procedure designed to ensure that items are properly addressed and mailed … . The plaintiff also failed to submit any domestic return receipts or other documentation from the United States Postal Service proving the certified and first-class mailing … . The presence of numbered bar codes on the envelopes and the copies of the 90-day notices submitted by the plaintiff did not suffice to establish, prima facie, proper mailing under RPAPL 1304 … . Bank of N.Y. Mellon Corp. v Salvador, 2022 NY Slip Op 04618, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: These foreclosure summary-judgment reversals based on the bank’s failure to  submit sufficient proof of the mailing of the RPAPL 1304 notice of foreclosure to the defendants just keep coming, week after week, year after year.

 

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INFANT PLAINTIFF WAS INJURED WHEN HE INADVERTENTLY SLAPPED A DISPLAY CASE IN THE HALL OF A SCHOOL AND THE GLASS SHATTERED; THERE WAS EVIDENCE A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAD OCCURRED IN THE PAST AND SOME OF THE PANELS IN THE DISPLAY CASE WERE MADE OF SHATTERPROOF PLEXIGLASS; PLAINTIFF’S PREMISES-LIABILITY CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s premises-liability cause of action against defendant school district should not have been dismissed. Infant plaintiff was pretending to play basketball when he inadvertently slapped a display case in the hall of the school and the glass shattered. There was evidence glass in the display case had shattered before and some of the glass panels were made of shatterproof plexiglass:

The defendant’s evidence in support of the motion did not eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether it had notice of the allegedly dangerous or defective condition because, among other things, the head custodian of the school testified at his deposition that at least one other glass panel in a similar display case in the school had shattered prior to the accident … . Further, the evidence submitted in support of the defendant’s motion failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether the glass panel was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous. In particular, the evidence demonstrated that the display case where the accident occurred contained two panes of shatterproof plexiglass and one glass pane and that the infant plaintiff was under the impression that the display case was made entirely of unbreakable material. R.B. v Sewanhaka Cent. High Sch. Dist., 2022 NY Slip Op 04616, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: Here a glass panel in a display case located in the hallway of a school shattered when plaintiff-student slapped it. There was evidence a similar incident occurred in the past, and some of the panels in the display case were made of shatterproof plexiglass. Therefore there was evidence the school had notice of the dangerous condition and there was a question whether the dangerous condition was open and obvious.

 

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PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT’S AFFIDAVIT WAS NOT CONCLUSORY AND SPECULATIVE; DEFENDANT DOCTOR’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant doctor’s (Falkovsky’s) motion for summary judgment in this medical malpractice case should not have been granted. Although the doctor made out a prima facie case demonstrating there was no departure form good and accepted medical malpractice, plaintiff’s expert raised questions of fact about whether defendant should have considered cardiac disease in his differential diagnosis:

[Plaintiff] presented to Falkovsky … with complaints of loss of taste and appetite for two weeks, the unintentional loss of ten pounds, and two episodes of dizziness and vomiting that resolved on their own. During a follow up visit on March 17, 2015, Falkovsky noted … that blood work had revealed that the decedent had anemia. Falkovsky believed the cause of the decedent’s symptoms was most likely a neoplasm, and referred the decedent to a gastroenterologist and a nephrologist. On March 19, 2015, the decedent was examined by a nephrologist, who noted … that the decedent had lower extremity edema. The decedent underwent an endoscopy with his gastroenterologist on March 25, 2015, which revealed … reflux and gastritis. A renal sonogram performed on April 11, 2015, showed that the decedent had a right renal cyst and a possible angeomyolipoma. The decedent died on April 16, 2015. An autopsy revealed that the decedent died as a result of atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. * * *

… [T]he opinions of the plaintiff’s expert were not speculative and conclusory … . The plaintiff’s expert opined, inter alia, that Falkovsky departed from the standard of care by failing to include cardiac disease in his differential diagnosis based upon the decedent’s symptoms in light of his medical history, and failing to order proper tests or to refer the decedent to a cardiologist for cardiac-related tests, which resulted in a lack of proper treatment that could have prevented the decedent’s death. Shirley v Falkovsky, 2022 NY Slip Op 04659, Second Dept 7-20-22

Practice Point: A conclusory or speculative expert affidavit will not raise a question of fact in a medical malpractice case. Here plaintiff’s expert opined that defendant doctor should have considered cardiac disease in his differential diagnosis, based on plaintiff’s symptoms, which included swelling of the lower extremities. Plaintiff died from his cardiac disease. Supreme Court should not have found plaintiff’s expert’s affidavit to have been speculative and conclusory and therefore should not have granted the doctor’s motion for summary judgment.

 

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PLAINTIFF DID NOT PRESENT EXPERT OPINION TO SUPPORT THE ALLEGATION HE INHALED SUFFICIENT AMOUNTS OF ASBESTOS TO HAVE CAUSED HIS CANCER; DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff in this asbestos-exposure case did not raise a question of fact about whether his exposure to asbestos was sufficient to have caused his cancer. Plaintiff alleged he was exposed to asbestos when he installed defendant ABI’s vinyl floor tiles. Defendant presented evidence from simulation studies and plaintiff offered no expert evidence in opposition:

In Nemeth v Brenntag N. Am. (___ NY3d ___, 2022 NY Slip Op 02769 [2022]), the Court of Appeals, while recognizing its conclusion in Parker v Mobil Oil Corp. (7 NY3d 434 [2006]) that precise qualification of exposure to a toxin is not always required, stated that causation nonetheless requires plaintiff to provide proof of “sufficient exposure to a substance to cause the claimed adverse health effect” … . …

Plaintiff challenges the opinion proffered by ABI’s expert, who relied upon calculations arising from experiments funded by defendants, in determining that decedent was exposed, if at all, to asbestos in amounts similar to those in ambient air, an exposure insufficient to cause cancer. While the reliability of those calculations could pose an issue of credibility, the fact that they were performed by a paid expert does not automatically invalidate their conclusions. Plaintiff offered no expert to counter ABI’s calculation of decedent’s cumulative lifetime exposure, and thus no question of fact was raised as to its validity … . Killian v A.C. & S., Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 04610, First Dept 7-19-22

Practice Point: Here defendant presented evidence of simulation studies to show that plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos was not sufficient to have caused his cancer and plaintiff presented no expert evidence in opposition. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted.

 

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THE PROOF AT TRIAL DID NOT DEMONSTRATE PLAINTIFF INHALED SUFFICIENT LEVELS OF ASBESTOS WHEN USING DEFENDANT’S TALCUM POWDER TO HAVE CAUSED HER MESOTHELIOMA; DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SET ASIDE THE VERDICT AS A MATTER OF LAW SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant J & J’s motion to set aside the verdict in the asbestos-exposure trial should have been granted. Plaintiffs, as a matter of law, did not demonstrate the exposure to asbestos in defendant’s talcum powder caused plaintiff’s mesothelioma:

At trial, plaintiffs failed, as a matter of law, to carry their burden “to establish sufficient exposure to a substance to cause the claimed adverse health effect” … . To make such a showing, a plaintiff must present expert testimony providing a “scientific expression of the level of exposure to toxins in defendant’s products that was sufficient to have caused the disease” … . Even if it is assumed that plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence to support their mineral expert’s estimate of the amount of asbestos to which plaintiff Donna Olson was exposed each time she used J&J’s talcum powder products, plaintiffs’ medical expert never set forth a scientific expression of the minimum lifetime exposure to asbestos that would have been sufficient to cause mesothelioma, the disease in question … . Thus, the medical expert’s testimony that mesothelioma could have resulted from “a significant exposure above normal background levels” was insufficient. Matter of New York City Asbestos Litig., 2022 NY Slip Op 04611, First Dept 7-19-22

Practice Point: This is another decision in a group of four decisions released on the same day by the First Department finding plaintiff’s expert evidence failed, as a matter of law, to demonstrate plaintiff had inhaled enough asbestos to have caused lung disease.

 

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PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT EVIDENCE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO DEMONSTRATE PLAINTIFF INHALED ENOUGHT ASBESTOS FIBERS TO CAUSE HIS CANCER; DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff did not present sufficient expert evidence that his exposure to asbestos from defendant ABI’s vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring caused his cancer. Plaintiff was an electrician and he alleged he worked in close proximity to workers installing ABI’s flooring:

[I]n asbestos exposure and other toxic tort cases, “an opinion on causation should set forth a plaintiff’s exposure to a toxin, that the toxin is capable of causing the particular illness (general causation) and that plaintiff was exposed to sufficient levels of the toxin to cause the illness (specific causation)” …  As to specific causation, “there must be evidence from which the factfinder can conclude that the plaintiff was exposed to levels of th[e] agent that are known to cause the [relevant] harm” … .

… “[B]ecause there are times that ‘a plaintiff’s exposure to a toxin will be difficult or impossible to quantify by pinpointing an exact numerical value,’ ‘it is not always necessary for a plaintiff to quantify exposure levels precisely or use the dose-response relationship, provided that whatever methods an expert uses to establish causation are generally accepted in the scientific community'” … . …

Plaintiff’s opposition failed to raise any issue of fact as to specific causation. A showing that the decedent “work[ed] in dust laden with asbestos generated from products containing asbestos” accompanied by “expert testimony that dust raised from manipulating asbestos products ‘necessarily’ contains enough asbestos to cause mesothelioma” is not enough … . Plaintiff’s medical expert did point to simulation studies measuring an average level of airborne asbestos as high as 0.27 f/cc during the cutting, sanding, and snapping of asbestos-containing floor tile. He did not, however, provide any correlation between the asbestos fiber levels to which plaintiff may have been exposed and the amount of inhaled asbestos that would have caused decedent’s lung cancer … .Pomponi v A.O. Smith Water Prods. Co., 2022 NY Slip Op 04612, First Dept 7-19-22

Practice Point: The general evidentiary requirements for a plaintiff’s prima facie case in an asbestos-exposure care are clearly explained. Plaintiff’s expert evidence was not sufficient to raise a question of fact about whether the exposure caused his cancer.

 

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