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DEFENDANTS’ PROOF DEMONSTRATED THE SNOW STORM WAS OVER 12 HOURS BEFORE PLAINTIFF’S SLIP AND FALL, DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT UNDER THE STORM IN PROGRESS RULE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants did not demonstrate the applicability of the storm in progress rule in this ice and snow slip and fall case. Therefore defendants motion for summary judgment should not have been granted:

The climatological data submitted by the defendants showed that there was an accumulation of approximately seven inches of snow, which had ceased to fall by 8:00 p.m. on February 3, 2014, more than 12 hours prior to the accident, and that the temperature was 32 degrees when the storm stopped and dropped below freezing during the time prior to the happening of the accident. Further, the defendants submitted a transcript of the deposition testimony of the injured plaintiff, who testified that the walkway from the hotel to the parking lot was clear while the parking lot was icy and had not been cleared by 9:00 a.m. on February 4, 2014, when the accident occurred. Casey-Bernstein v Leach & Powers, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01557, Second Dept 3-6-19

Similar issues and result in Yeung v Selfhelp (KIV) Assoc., L.P., 2019 NY Slip Op 01558, Second Dept 3-6-19

 

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DELIBERATE ACTS BY DEFENDANT’S ATTORNEY RESULTED IN THE DEFAULT, DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO VACATE THE DEFAULT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s attorney’s deliberate acts required denial of defendant’s motion to vacate the default:

The affirmations of the defendant’s attorney reveal that he made a conscious decision not to submit any papers in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion even though the Supreme Court gave him ample opportunity to do so. In addition, defense counsel waited until the plaintiff served a proposed default order, more than four months after the court declared the defendant to be in default, before serving the defendant’s motion to vacate. Under these circumstances, the defendant’s failure to oppose the plaintiff’s motion was willful … .

The defendant claims that her default was caused by law office failure based on defense counsel’s statement in his affirmation that his “office will take full responsibility.” At most, defense counsel’s advice, and the defendant’s decision to follow it, constituted a misguided strategy, not law office failure … . Thus, the defendant failed to establish a reasonable excuse for her default … . Bove v Bove, 2019 NY Slip Op 01555, Second Dept 3-6-19

 

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DEFENDANTS DID NOT SUBMIT EVIDENCE SHOWING WHEN THE SIDEWALK WAS LAST INSPECTED IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE, DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this sidewalk slip and fall case should not have been granted. Defendants offered no evidence of when the sidewalk was last inspected:

In a trip and fall case, a defendant moving for summary judgment has the initial burden of making a prima facie showing that it neither created the hazardous condition nor had actual or constructive notice of its existence for a sufficient length of time to discover and remedy it …. A movant cannot satisfy its initial burden by merely pointing to gaps in the plaintiff’s case … .

Here, the defendants failed to establish, prima facie, that they did not have constructive notice of the alleged hazardous condition. In support of their motion, the defendants submitted no evidence as to when the subject sidewalk was last inspected prior to the accident … . Ariza v Number One Star Mgt. Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 01551, Second Dept 3-6-19

 

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ATTORNEY HAD APPARENT AUTHORITY TO SIGN STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT WHICH THEREFORE BOUND THE PLAINTIFF TO ITS TERMS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s attorney had apparent authority to sign a stipulation of settlement which was therefore binding on plaintiff:

“A stipulation made by the attorney may bind a client even where it exceeds the attorney’s actual authority if the attorney had apparent authority to enter into the stipulation” … . Here, the plaintiff is bound by the settlement agreement signed by her former attorney. Even if the attorney lacked actual authority to enter into the settlement agreement on the plaintiff’s behalf, a finding that he had the apparent authority to do so is warranted by the facts … . The plaintiff’s former attorney participated in the mediation with the plaintiff’s knowledge and consent, and represented to the mediator and to defense counsel that a representative from his office had spoken with the plaintiff and obtained authority to settle the action for the sum of $150,000. Additionally, the law firm that employed the attorney who participated in the mediation was the plaintiff’s attorney of record in the action, and attorneys from that law firm signed and verified the summons and complaint and signed and certified a note of issue filed in the action … . Amerally v Liberty King Produce, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 01550, Second Dept 3-5-19

 

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ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS (ZBA) HAS EXCLUSIVELY APPELLATE JURISDICTION AND HAS NO AUTHORITY TO DECIDE A MATTER THAT HAS NOT FIRST BEEN THE SUBJECT OF A DECISION BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIAL, ALTHOUGH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW WAS VIOLATED, THE VIOLATION WAS NOT A BASIS FOR ANNULMENT OF THE ZBA DETERMINATION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined (1) the zoning board of appeals (ZBA) does not have jurisdiction absent a determination of an administrative official which is appealed; and (2) although the Open Meetings Law was violated, the violation did not warrant annulment of the ZBA’s determination on that ground. The petitioner had sought an interpretation of the local zoning law to determine whether a particular use of the land was permitted. Because no administrative official had ruled on that issue, the ZBA did not have authority to make a determination and the determination was properly annulled on that ground:

Absent a determination of the Building Inspector or other administrative official charged with the enforcement of the local zoning law, the Zoning Board of Appeals was without jurisdiction to consider Chestnut Ridge Associates’ application for an interpretation of the local zoning law to determine if the plaintiffs/petitioners’ landscaping business on certain premises was a permitted use in a laboratory office-zoned district … . Accordingly, we agree with the Supreme Court’s annulment of the determination of the Zoning Board of Appeals on that basis. …

… [T]he record supports a finding that the Zoning Board of Appeals violated the Open Meetings Law with regard to a workshop meeting held on January 17, 2012, by failing to give proper notice of the meeting … . However, the plaintiffs/petitioners failed to establish good cause to annul the Board’s determination on that ground, as the improperly noticed meeting was open to the public and the determination at issue was adopted at a publicized, public meeting, after a series of public meetings with regard thereto had previously been held … . Accordingly, the Supreme Court should not have annulled the determination of the Zoning Board of Appeals on the ground that the Open Meetings Law had been violated, and should not have awarded the plaintiffs/petitioners costs and attorneys’ fees pursuant to Public Officers Law § 107(2) based on that violation … . Chestnut Ridge Assoc., LLC v 30 Sephar Lane, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 01388, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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A TAX FORECLOSURE SALE OF THE SERVIENT ESTATE SUBSEQUENT TO THE PLAINTIFFS’ PURCHASE OF TITLE INSURANCE WAS NOT A TITLE DEFECT WHICH ENTITLED THE TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY, AS A MATTER OF LAW, TO DENY PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIM, THE CLAIM STEMMED FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FENCE ACROSS AN EASEMENT ON THE SERVIENT ESTATE WHICH WAS THE ONLY ACCESS TO PLAINTIFFS’ PROPERTY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined defendant title insurance company should not have been granted summary judgment supporting its denial of plaintiffs’ title insurance claim.  A fence had been constructed across an easement on the servient estate which blocked plaintiffs’ access to their property. Years after the title insurance was purchased and before the fence was constructed, the servient was the subject of a tax foreclosure and sale. The Second Department held that the tax sale was not a title defect which justified, as a matter of law, denial of the claim by the title insurance company:

… [P]laintiffs purchased a policy of title insurance from the defendant Old Republic National Title Insurance Company (hereinafter Old Republic), dated January 17, 2007. The policy specifically insured against losses or damages sustained as a result of the plaintiffs’ “[l]ack of a right of access to and from the land.” The policy excluded from coverage “[d]efects, liens, encumbrances, adverse claims, or other matters . . . attaching or created subsequent to Date of Policy.” …

Contrary to Old Republic’s contention, if the plaintiffs acquired a valid easement appurtenant from [plaintiffs’ predecessors in title] in 2007, such easement would not have been extinguished by the 2013 tax sale … . Thus, Old Republic’s contention that the 2013 tax sale constituted a defect, lien, encumbrance, adverse claim or other matter “attaching or created subsequent to Date of Policy” within the meaning of the relevant policy exclusion is without merit, and cannot serve to establish Old Republic’s prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Buroker v Phillips, 2019 NY Slip Op 01386, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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PLAINTIFF ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS REAR-END COLLISION CASE, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT DIDN’T REACH THE LIABILITY ISSUE, THE MERITS WERE LITIGATED AND BRIEFED ALLOWING APPELLATE REVIEW (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment in this rear-end collision traffic accident case, noting that the plaintiff no longer has to demonstrate freedom from comparative fault to warrant a judgment on liability. Supreme Court had not reached the liability issue and the Second Department did so because the merits were litigated and briefed:

… [T]he plaintiff testified at her deposition that her vehicle was stopped at a red light when it was struck in the rear by the defendants’ vehicle. This testimony established, prima facie, that the defendant driver’s negligence was a proximate cause of the accident … . Moreover, although the plaintiff also submitted a transcript of the defendant driver’s deposition testimony, that testimony does not present a triable issue of fact. The defendant driver testified that before the accident occurred, the light turned green, and the plaintiff began to slowly move forward. The defendant driver began to accelerate, then he saw the plaintiff’s brake lights go on. He testified that he “hit the brakes and hit her.” In essence, his testimony amounted to a claim that the plaintiff’s vehicle came to a sudden stop which, standing alone, was insufficient to rebut the presumption of negligence on the part of the defendants’ vehicle … . Buchanan v Keller, 2019 NY Slip Op 01385, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

 

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COVENANT TO BUILD A WALKWAY LINKING PARTS OF A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY RAN WITH THE LAND AND WAS THEREFORE ENFORCEABLE BY THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION AGAINST A SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER OF THE PROPERTY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the plaintiff homeowners association (HOA) was entitled to enforce an agreement made with the prior owners of the residential community to construct a walkway linking the newly constructed area to the existing areas of the community. The walkway covenant was deemed to run with the land:

As stated by the Court of Appeals, “[i]n Neponsit [Neponsit Prop. Owners’ Assn. v Emigrant Indus. Sav. Bank, 278 NY 248] we articulated three conditions . . . that must be met in order for a covenant to run with the land: (1) it must appear that grantor and grantee intended that the covenant should run with the land; (2) it must appear that the covenant is one touching or concerning the land with which it runs; [and] (3) it must appear that there is privity of estate between the promisee or party claiming the benefit of the covenant and the right to enforce it, and the promisor or party who rests under the burden of the covenant” … . …

The contract entered into in 2000, and the 2002 Amendment, as well as the circumstances of the transaction, demonstrate that the grantor and grantee intended that the walkway covenant should run with the land, thus satisfying the first Neponsit condition … . Indeed, the walkway covenant was expressly deemed an “inducement” for the HOA to sell the property … . …

The second Neponsit condition, that the walkway covenant touches and concerns the land, is easily met here, since the walkway covenant requires construction of a walkway linking the property with the Bay Street Landing community, and construction of common amenities. Thus, it “directly affects the uses to which the land may be put and substantially affects its value” … .

The third Neponsit condition is satisfied by the undisputed facts establishing the requisite privity  … . Bay St. Landing Homeowners Assn., Inc. v Meadow Partners, LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01384, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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BANK’S FAILURE TO SUBMIT EVIDENCE WHICH MET THE CRITERIA OF THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE REQUIRED DENIAL OF THE BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, THE BANK’S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RPAPL 1304 NOTICE AND MAILING CRITERIA REQUIRED THAT DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BE GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the bank’s evidence in this foreclosure action did not meet the requirements of the business records exception to the hearsay rule and therefore the bank’s summary judgment motion should not have been granted in this foreclosure action. The court further held that defendant’s motion for summary judgment based upon the bank’s failure to comply with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304, an issue that can be raised at any time, should have been granted:

The plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the records Wallace relied upon were admissible under the business records exception to the hearsay rule (see CPLR 4518[a]). Wallace did not attest to personal knowledge of SLS’s record-keeping business practices and procedures  … . Wallace also failed to attest that the records were made in the regular course of SLS’s business and that it was the regular course of SLS’s business to make them, at the time of the act, transaction, occurrence, or event, or within a reasonable time thereafter (see CPLR 4518[a] …). Thus, Wallace failed to lay a proper foundation for the admission of records, and her assertions based on these records were inadmissible … . Bank of N.Y. Mellon v Weber, 2019 NY Slip Op 01383, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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DEBTOR’S LAWSUIT WAS DISMISSED BECAUSE IT WAS NOT LISTED AS AN ASSET IN THE BANKRUPTCY FILINGS, BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE WAS ENTITLED TO RECOMMENCE THE SUIT PURSUANT TO CPLR 205 (a) WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF THE DISMISSAL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the bankruptcy trustee could take advantage of CPLR 205 (a) to recommence a lawsuit within six months of the dismissal. The timely filed action was dismissed because the debtor did not list the suit as an asset in the bankruptcy filings:

… [D]ismissal of the 2013 action was not based upon a voluntary discontinuance, lack of personal jurisdiction, neglect to prosecute the action, or a final judgment on the merits (see CPLR 205[a]). … CPLR 205(a) is applicable even though the 2013 action was dismissed based on the debtor’s incapacity to sue. The extension provisions of CPLR 205(a) are available to a plaintiff who seeks to recommence an action, notwithstanding that the prior action upon which the plaintiff relies was “invalid” in the sense that it contained a fatal defect … .

Although, as a general matter, only the plaintiff in the original action is entitled to the benefits of CPLR 205(a), the Court of Appeals has nevertheless recognized an exception to this general rule under certain circumstances where the plaintiff in the new action is seeking to enforce “the rights of the plaintiff in the original action” … . The Court of Appeals also has stated that the statute’s ” broad and liberal purpose is not to be frittered away by any narrow construction'” … . In this case, the plaintiff, the debtor’s bankruptcy trustee, seeks to recommence a personal injury action as the debtor’s successor-in-interest. As the debtor’s successor-in-interest, the plaintiff has the capacity to commence this action to recover damages for the debtor’s alleged personal injuries … . Consequently, the plaintiff is not seeking to enforce any rights separate and independent from those asserted by the debtor in the prior action … . Goodman v Skanska USA Civ., Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 01394, Second Dept 2-27-19

 

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