Kearsey v. Vestal Park, LLC

71 A.D.3d 1363, 897 N.Y.S.2d 542
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided March 25, 2010·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

Peters, J.P.

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Tait, J.), entered October 27, 2008 in Broome County, which, among other things, denied a motion by defendants Vestal Fark, LLC and Northeast United Corporation for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against them.

Plaintiff sued to recover for injuries she sustained when she slipped and fell on a patch of ice on the sidewalk of a shopping plaza owned by defendants Vestal Fark, LLC and Northeast United Corporation (hereinafter collectively referred to as defendants). In their answers, defendants interposed cross claims for contribution and indemnification against defendants Greenskeeper Lawn Maintenance Service and Anthony Joseph Fittarelli II, individually and doing business as Greenskeeper Lawn Maintenance Service (hereinafter collectively referred to as Greenskeeper), the contractor hired to perform snow and ice removal of the sidewalks at the plaza. Following joinder of issue and discovery, defendants and Greenskeeper separately moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, with Greens-[1364] keeper also moving to dismiss defendants’ cross claims.* Supreme Court denied defendants’ motion, finding questions of fact as to whether they had constructive notice of the icy condition, and granted Greenskeeper’s summary judgment motion dismissing the cross claims. Defendants now appeal.

To demonstrate entitlement to summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs complaint, it was incumbent upon defendants “to establish as a matter of law that they maintained the property in question in a reasonably safe condition and that they neither created the allegedly dangerous condition existing thereon nor had actual or constructive notice thereof’ (Brown v Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc., 60 AD3d 1188, 1189 [2009] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see Managault v Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., 62 AD3d 1196, 1197 [2009]; Moriarity v Wallace Dev. Co., LLC, 61 AD3d 1088, 1088 [2009]). Here, defendants met their initial burden by proffering, among other things, evidence of the contractual arrangements with Greenskeeper to maintain the plaza’s sidewalks free of snow and ice, plaintiffs testimony that she had not observed any snow or ice on the sidewalk before she fell, and the testimony of defendants’ representatives and staff establishing that they did not receive any complaints from store tenants concerning an icy condition, nor did the weather indicate the need to ensure that maintenance contractors were on site to salt (see Elsey v Clark Trading Corp., 57 AD3d 1330, 1331 [2008]; Torosian v Bigsbee Vil. Homeowners Assn., 46 AD3d 1314, 1315 [2007]; Dickerson v Troy Hous. Auth., 34 AD3d 1003, 1004 [2006]). As such, the burden shifted to plaintiff to come forward with evidence demonstrating a triable issue of fact (see CPLR 3212 [b]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]).

In opposition, plaintiff asserted that the slippery condition was created by the melting of snow on the roof, which resulted in water falling from the overhang onto the sidewalk and then freezing to form ice, and submitted proof primarily aimed at raising a factual issue concerning constructive notice. “A claim of constructive notice requires that the condition be visible and apparent and in existence for a sufficient period of time so as to allow the defendant an opportunity to take corrective action” (Saunders v Bryant’s Towing, 27 AD3d 992, 994 [2006] [citation omitted]; see Brown v Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc., 60 AD3d at 1189-1190; Cantwell v Rondout Sav. Bank, 55 AD3d 1031, 1032 [2008]).

Plaintiffs deposition testimony established that, immediately [1365] after her fall, she observed the patch of ice she had slipped on. She described it as “quite extensive,” being at least a foot in width and extending at least three store lengths. She also proffered the affidavits of Anthony Meier, Heather Beers and Courtney Simpson, each of whom observed plaintiff’s fall, averred that another patron fell approximately an hour earlier in that exact same location and described the condition of the portion of the sidewalk where plaintiff fell as “covered” in ice. According to Meier and Beers, both of whom worked at a store within the plaza, ice often formed in the area where plaintiff fell as a result of water dripping from the roof and overhang. Meier added that he observed icicles a few feet long hanging off the overhang and dripping onto the sidewalk at the time of plaintiffs fall, and Beers confirmed the presence of ice in the area of plaintiffs fall both prior to and following the accident. Plaintiff further offered the affidavit from an expert who stated that the climatological data revealed a widespread storm that brought more than 13 inches of snow that ended during the late morning on the day prior to the accident, and opined that the subsequent sunny weather, coupled with temperatures that fluctuated just above freezing, caused snow to melt and run off from the overhang onto the sidewalk and created the potential for refreezing. An affidavit from an engineer, who visited the scene well after the accident but found its condition to be unchanged, concluded that the size and placement of the overhang was a direct cause of the water dripping onto the location of the sidewalk where plaintiff fell and the subsequent icy condition that existed at the time of the accident. Viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiff and according her every favorable inference (see Brown v Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Inc., 60 AD3d at 1190), we agree with Supreme Court’s conclusion that she raised a triable issue of fact “as to whether the allegedly dangerous condition existed for a sufficient period of time prior to the accident for defendants] to reasonably have discovered and remedied it” (Dickerson v Troy Hous. Auth., 34 AD3d at 1004-1005; see Moriarity v Wallace Dev. Co., 61 AD3d at 1089; Torosian v Bigsbee Vil. Homeowners Assn., 46 AD3d at 1315).

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Kearsey v. Vestal Park, LLC, 71 A.D.3d 1363, 897 N.Y.S.2d 542 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2010).

71 A.D.3d 1363 (Kearsey v. Vestal Park, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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