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THE RES IPSA LOQUITUR DOCTRINE APPLIED TO A PLASTIC CHAIR IN THE RECREATIONAL ROOM OF DEFENDANT CORRECTIONAL FACILITY; THE CHAIR COLLAPSED WHILE CLAIMANT WAS SITTING IN IT; THE ISSUE WAS WHETHER DEFENDANT HAD EXCLUSIVE CONTROL OVER THE CHAIR; COURT OF CLAIMS REVERSED (THIRD DEPT). ​

The Third Department, reversing the Court of Claims, determined the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applied to a plastic chair in the recreational room of a state correctional facility. Claimant alleged the back legs of the chair broke off at the same time causing him to fall to the concrete floor:

… [T]he evidence of defendant’s exclusive control, under the circumstances of this case, was sufficiently established … . Indeed, “[a]s a species of circumstantial proof, . . . res ipsa [loquitor] does not depend on a showing that the instrumentality causing the harm was within the defendant’s exclusive control; it is enough that the degree of dominion be such that the defendant can be identified with probability as the party responsible for the injury produced” … .

… [D]efendant was “under an affirmative duty to use reasonable care in making sure that the chair it provided was safe for the purpose for which it was to be used. That [claimant] had temporary possession of the chair does not negate the inference that its sudden collapse, under normal usage, was most likely caused by defendant’s negligence” … . Moreover, defendant, who no doubt had sole and exclusive possession of the chair immediately after the accident, failed to offer any evidence to support an inference of any other possible explanation for the accident … . Draper v State of New York, 2021 NY Slip Op 04163, Third Dept 7-1-21

 

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ALTHOUGH IT WAS A VERY CLOSE CASE, THE EVIDENCE DID NOT SUPPORT A CHANGE IN CUSTODY SUCH THAT THE COUPLE’S SON, WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM, WOULD RELOCATE WITH FATHER TO MASSACHUSETTS, DESPITE FATHER’S BEING MORE FINANCIALLY SECURE THAN MOTHER; FAMILY COURT DID NOT GIVE PROPER WEIGHT TO THE SON’S WISHES (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Family Court, determined, in a very close case where both parents love and want the best for their children (who have been diagnosed with autism), father did not demonstrate a sound basis for modifying the custody arrangement to allow relocation with his son to Massachusetts:

… [I]t is clear that the son is very strongly bonded to the mother. Indeed, he has lived with the mother for the last six years since the father moved to Massachusetts, except for short periods of visitation with the father. Moreover, the son has had very little visitation with the father since the 2019 holiday season due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, although the father cites the living conditions at the mother’s home as the motivation for initially seeking custody, we find this questionable given that he testified that the condition of the mother’s home has long been problematic and that, despite this, he relocated to Massachusetts and left both children in her care. Although … issues with the hot water heater were no doubt problematic, that matter was remedied prior to trial. Even more troubling, however, is the father’s strong opposition to the son changing schools because the son has difficulty with change, yet he feels it is in the son’s best interests to relocate him to Massachusetts away from the mother and the life he has established with her. Although relocation would certainly enhance the son’s life, as his living conditions would improve due to the father being more financially secure, this is only one factor in our analysis … . Finally, although not dispositive, given the advanced age of the son [born 2005], as well as testimony regarding how intelligent he is, we find that Family Court did not give proper weight to his wishes … . Matter of Daniel G. v Marie H., 2021 NY Slip Op 04178, Third Dept 7-1-21

 

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IN THIS CHILD-VICTIMS-ACT SEXUAL-ABUSE (NEGLIGENT-SUPERVISION) ACTION AGAINST THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ALBANY, PLAINTIFFS’ DISCOVERY REQUEST FOR THE FILES OF SEVERAL NONPARTY PRIESTS WAS PROPERLY GRANTED ON THE GROUND THE FILES MAY REVEAL A “HABIT” OR “CUSTOM” REGARDING HOW THE DIOCESE HANDLED SUSPECTED CHILD-SEXUAL-ABUSE (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined plaintiffs’ discovery request for the files of several nonparty priests in this Child-Victims-Act sexual-abuse (negligent-supervision) action against defendant Catholic Diocese of Albany was properly granted. The discovery was relevant to whether the diocese followed a “habit” or “custom” in dealing with priests suspected of sexually abusing children:

Although the Diocese raises several arguments concerning the appropriateness of habit evidence in this context — namely, that it is prejudicial and that the circumstances surrounding allegations of abuse vary and do not yield habitual responses from the Diocese — these arguments conflate plaintiffs’ requirement on their motion to compel with plaintiffs’ future requirements to introduce the files into evidence. For now, on their motion to compel discovery, plaintiffs are merely required to show that their discovery request is reasonably calculated to yield material and necessary information … . Whether plaintiffs can actually demonstrate “a sufficient number of instances” of the Diocese’s repetitive conduct in order to introduce the subject files into evidence as habit evidence is plaintiffs’ future burden … . Melfe v Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y., 2021 NY Slip Op 04179, Third Dept 7-1-21

 

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ALTHOUGH DEFENDANTS DID NOT SEE THE PLAINTIFF, THERE IS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER A PATIENT-PHYSICIAN RELATIONSHIP WAS CREATED BASED UPON ANOTHER DOCTOR’S ORDER THAT PLAINTIFF BE SEEN BY THOSE DEFENDANTS WITHIN ONE OR TWO DAYS (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the defendants’ motions for summary judgment in this medical malpractice action should not have been granted. One of the issues was whether defendants, who had never seen plaintiff, could be found to have had a patient-physician relationship based upon the failure to schedule an appointment within the time-frame ordered by another doctor:

… [P]laintiff acknowledges that she never received treatment from or spoke with Connolly or Retina Associates. Instead, plaintiff relies on a notation in her medical records from Twin Tiers stating that Rosenberg initially requested that she be evaluated by Retina Associates within one to two days and that a later appointment was scheduled only after Connolly apparently informed Twin Tiers that she “could wait to be seen until next week.” Moreover, after allegedly giving this advice regarding timing, Retina Associates scheduled the appointment beyond that acceptable time frame — for 13 days later. * * *

Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiff, a triable factual question exists regarding whether the notation in Twin Tiers’ chart — attributing a comment to Connolly regarding scheduling of treatment — is sufficient to establish an implied physician-patient relationship between plaintiff and Connolly or Retina Associates … . Marshall v Rosenberg, 2021 NY Slip Op 04180, Third Dept 7-1-21

 

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PLAINTIFF BANK’S EVIDENCE OF STANDING TO BRING THE FORECLOSURE ACTION WAS INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff bank’s evidence of standing in this foreclosure action was inadmissible hearsay:

… [T]he plaintiff submitted … the affidavit of James Green, a vice president of loan documentation for Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the plaintiff’s loan servicer. Green averred, based upon his review of “the business records relating to the subject mortgage loan,” that the plaintiff obtained possession of the note on June 14, 2006, and was in possession of the note as of the commencement of the action. However, Green did not attest that he was personally familiar with the record-keeping practices and procedures of the entity that generated the records or that those records were incorporated into the loan servicer’s records and routinely relied upon by the loan servicer in its own business. Thus, Green failed to lay a foundation for the admissibility of the records he relied upon to support his claim that the plaintiff had possession of the note as of the commencement of the action … . US Bank N.A. v Weinman, 2021 NY Slip Op 04051, Second Dept 6-23-21

 

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DEFENDANT DRIVER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS PEDESTRIAN-ACCIDENT CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED; PLAINTIFF’S EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SON WAS MORE THAN HALFWAY ACROSS THE STREET WHEN STRUCK (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant driver’s motion for summary judgment in this pedestrian accident cause should not have been granted. Plaintiff’s eight-year-old son was struck by defendant and there was evidence the child was more than halfway across the road at the time he was struck:

… [T]he evidence submitted by the defendant in support of her motion, including a transcript of her own deposition testimony, failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether she was free from fault in the happening of the accident and, if not free from fault, whether the child’s purported negligence was the sole proximate cause of the accident … . The evidence the defendant submitted indicated that the front passenger side of her vehicle came into contact with the child who, approaching from the defendant’s left, was more than halfway across the winding and curved roadway prior to impact (see Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1146[a], 1180[a], [e] …). Sage v Taylor, 2021 NY Slip Op 04048, Second Dept 6-23-21

 

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NO ONE, INCLUDING DEFENDANT DRIVER, SAW THE 17-MONTH-OLD BEFORE HEARING A LOUD “THUMP” AND FINDING THE CHILD LYING BEHIND DEFENDANT’S CAR; DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant driver did not eliminate all questions of fact about whether she was negligence. Defendant driver heard a loud “thump” and plaintiff’s decedent, a 17-month old child, was found lying on the ground right behind defendant’s car. No one saw the impact:

Shortly before the accident, the driver had dropped off a passenger in a residential cul-de-sac, with several young children playing nearby. After pulling into a driveway and reversing out in the opposite direction, the driver began moving her vehicle forward again when she heard a loud “thump”—which was also heard by at least four other witnesses in the vicinity. Believing that her vehicle had come into contact with a parked car to her right, the driver began reversing her vehicle when a man outside urgently directed her to stop. Upon exiting the vehicle, the driver observed the infant lying on the ground “right behind” her vehicle, on the passenger side. The infant was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries the following day. The driver did not see the infant prior to the accident, and the record does not indicate that anyone actually observed the contact between the infant and the defendants’ vehicle. …

Under the circumstances presented, the evidence submitted by the defendants was insufficient to meet their prima facie burden of proof, since it failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact regarding the driver’s alleged negligence, including her ability to see the infant prior to the accident … . Danziger v Elias, 2021 NY Slip Op 04008, Second Dept 6-22-21

 

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HEIGHT DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT SIDEWALK SLABS WAS A TRIVIAL DEFECT AS A MATTER OF LAW; SLIP AND FALL ACTION DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the alleged one-inch height-differential in adjacent sidewalk slabs was not actionable in this slip and fall case:

A property owner may not be held liable for trivial defects, not constituting a trap or nuisance, over which a pedestrian might merely stumble, stub his or her toes, or trip … . “A defendant seeking dismissal of a complaint on the basis that the alleged defect is trivial must make a prima facie showing that the defect is, under the circumstances, physically insignificant and that the characteristics of the defect or the surrounding circumstances do not increase the risks it poses. Only then does the burden shift to the plaintiff to establish an issue of fact” … . In determining whether a defect is trivial, the court must examine all of the facts presented, including the “width, depth, elevation, irregularity and appearance of the defect along with the time, place and circumstance of the injury” … . There is no “minimal dimension test” or “per se rule” that the condition must be of a certain height or depth in order to be actionable … . “Photographs which fairly and accurately represent the accident site may be used to establish that a defect is trivial and not actionable” … .

Here, in support of its motion, the defendant submitted, inter alia, the transcripts of the plaintiff’s testimony from a hearing pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h and her deposition testimony as well as photographs of the alleged defective sidewalk, which established, prima facie, that the height differential between the two slabs of abutting concrete that constituted the sidewalk was physically insignificant and that the characteristics of the defect or the surrounding circumstances did not increase the risks it posed … . Boesch v Comsewogue Sch. Dist., 2021 NY Slip Op 04007, Second Dept 6-23-21

 

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PLAINTIFF BANK’S REPRESENTATIVE RELIED ON UNIDENTIFIED DOCUMENTS WHICH WERE NOT ATTACHED TO HER AFFIDAVIT TO DEMONSTRATE DEFENDANT’S DEFAULT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION; BANK’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DENIED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the plaintiff’s representative relied on business records which were not identified or attached to demonstrate defendant’s (Huertas’s) default in this foreclosure action. Therefore the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment should not have been granted:

… [T]he plaintiff relied upon the affidavit of Crystal Dunbar, a foreclosure specialist of … the mortgage loan servicer for the plaintiff’s assignee … to show that Huertas had defaulted under the terms of the subject note by failing to make required monthly payments. In her affidavit, Dunbar stated that Huertas “defaulted under their note for $227,136.00 owing to the Plaintiff . . . by having failed to make monthly payments on September 01, 2009 to date.” Dunbar did not state that she had personal knowledge of the default, but averred that she had “personal knowledge of the [p]laintiff’s records and record making practices, and how such records [were] made, used and kept.” Dunbar’s affidavit was sufficient to provide a foundation for the admission, under the business records exception to the rule against hearsay (see CPLR 4518[a]), of records related to the subject mortgage … . However, Dunbar’s purported knowledge of Huertas’s default was based upon her review of unidentified business records, which she failed to attach to her affidavit. Accordingly, her assertions regarding Huertas’s default, without the business records upon which she relied in making those assertions, constituted inadmissible hearsay … . Bank of Am., N.A. v Huertas, 2021 NY Slip Op 04005, First Dept 6-23-21

 

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THE LANDLORD AND GENERAL CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF AN UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM TO DELIVER GAS TO APPARTMENTS WERE PROPERLY CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER AFTER A GAS EXPLOSION (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Acosta, affirmed the manslaughter convictions of the landlord (Hrynenko) and general contractor (Kukic) stemming from a gas explosion which killed two and injured 13. The defendants were responsible for installing an unauthorized system for delivering gas to apartments in the building. The evidence was deemed legally sufficient and the verdicts were not against the weight of the evidence:

… [T]he evidence was legally sufficient to prove that defendants recklessly caused the victims’ deaths when they deliberately circumvented safety regulations to create and operate the unauthorized system that diverted natural gas from the building at 119 Second Avenue to the apartments in the building at 121 Second Avenue. Contrary to defendants’ primary argument, the explosion was a foreseeable result of their actions. There was ample evidence that defendants, who both had ample experience with buildings and the relevant DOB [Department of Buildings] and Con Ed regulations, understood the risk that death would occur when they proceeded with building and operating the unauthorized gas delivery system … . However, Hrynenko needed a gas delivery system to enable her to immediately begin collecting rent for the apartments at 121, so she chose not to wait for Con Ed’s permitting and inspection process to be completed for the authorized system and instead had Kukic build an unauthorized and dangerous makeshift system, using unlicensed plumbers, which they hid from Con Ed. The record shows that defendants both had active roles throughout the planning, building and operation of the system. People v Kukic, 2021 NY Slip Op 03996, First Dept 6-22-21

 

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