Castillo v. Melmarkets, Inc.

227 A.D.2d 1001, 643 N.Y.S.2d 813, 1996 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6768

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: May 31, 1996
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order unanimously affirmed without costs. Memorandum: Plaintiff commenced, this action, individually and on behalf of her infant son, who was burned by hot coffee while with his parents in defendant supermarket. Plaintiff alleges that her son ran up to a self-service coffee counter and pulled a cup of hot coffee off of the counter, burning his chest. Because a jury could reasonably conclude that the self-service counter, which allowed the placement of hot liquids within reach of small children, constituted a dangerous and defective condition and was the proximate cause of the child’s injuries, Supreme Court properly refused to grant defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint (see generally, Cameron v Bohack Co., 27 AD2d 362). The denial of summary judgment in this case does not hold defendant to an unreasonable standard of care (see, Derdiarian v Felix Contr. Corp., 51 NY2d 308, rearg denied 52 NY2d 784). (Appeal from Order of Supreme Court, Nassau County, O’Connell, J. — Summary Judgment.) Present — Pine, J. P., Fallon, Callahan, Balio and Davis, JJ.