Morales v. Coram Materials Corp.

51 A.D.3d 86, 853 N.Y.S.2d 611
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMarch 11, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 51 A.D.3d 86 (Morales v. Coram Materials Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morales v. Coram Materials Corp., 51 A.D.3d 86, 853 N.Y.S.2d 611 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Dillon, J.

In a case involving a plaintiff who was seriously injured while engaging in a recreational activity on the property of another, we consider on this appeal the nature of proof that a landowner must tender, on a motion for summary judgment, when seeking immunity from liability pursuant to General Obligations Law § 9-103, the recreational use statute.

I. Facts

On June 14, 2003, at approximately 7:15 p.m., the plaintiff, Aaron W. Morales, was rendered paraplegic from an accident while riding a four-wheel Yamaha Banshee all-terrain vehicle (hereinafter ATV) in a sand and gravel pit located in Miller Place. The sand and gravel pit was owned and commercially operated by the defendant Coram Materials Corp. (hereinafter Coram Materials). Coram Materials had contracted with the defendant Pro-Tek Security System, Inc. (hereinafter Pro-Tek), for Pro-Tek to provide security at the site.

On the date of the accident, Morales and three of his friends rode their ATVs for a few hours upon a dirt trail and through woods. They eventually emerged from the woods into a clearing that was approximately 100 feet above Coram Materials’ sand and gravel pit. The pit contained large hills of sand and gravel, construction equipment, and conveyor belts. Morales and his friends then traveled down an ungated dirt road that led from the elevated clearing to the bottom of the pit. A security guard at the bottom of the pit gave them permission to drive their ATVs within the pit on condition that they remain on the opposite side of a particular sand hill that the guard identified.

Morales ascended the hill without incident ahead of his friends. As he descended the opposite side, he observed that a portion of the hill was “missing.” Despite pressing the front and rear brakes as hard as he could, Morales was thrown over [88]*88the handlebars of his ATV and landed near the bottom of the hill, sustaining significant injuries.

Morales commenced this action against, among others, Coram Materials and Pro-Tek, alleging causes of action for the negligent supervision and security of the property and the failure to warn of hazardous conditions.

After Morales was deposed, but before any depositions of defense witnesses were conducted, Coram Materials moved for summary judgment on the ground that it was immunized from liability by application of General Obligations Law § 9-103. Specifically, Coram Materials contended, through the affirmation of its counsel, that the requirements of General Obligations Law § 9-103 were met since Morales was engaged at the time of his accident in a recreational activity within the defined scope of the statute, and since the sand and gravel pit where the accident occurred was suitable for ATV use. Morales and Pro-Tek opposed Coram Materials’ motion for summary judgment, arguing that Coram Materials had failed to submit evidence that its property had been previously used for ATV riding or was otherwise suitable for such activity. Morales also argued that Coram Materials’ motion was premature absent depositions of the defendants, a physical inspection of the premises, and discovery of any prior ATV activities at the sand and gravel pit. By cross motion, Pro-Tek sought the benefit of immunity under General Obligations Law § 9-103 in the event it was accorded to Coram Materials.

In a reply affidavit submitted in further support of the motion of Coram Materials for summary judgment, Frank Vigliarolo, a corporate officer of Coram Materials, averred that riders had operated AT Vs on Coram Materials’ property for several years prior to Morales’ accident. Vigliarolo referenced an unsigned, unsworn memo from John T. Brown of Pro-Tek, dated January 27, 2003, written approximately five months before Morales’ accident, stating, inter alia, that AT Vs were being operated upon the property without permission, that ATV operators would be asked to leave, and that “Brookhaven Code enforcement” would be contacted if ATV users failed to leave upon request.

By order dated January 3, 2006, the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, inter alia, granted that branch of the motion of Coram Materials which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it, finding that Coram Materials was immunized from liability pursuant to General [89]*89Obligations Law § 9-103. The Supreme Court found that Coram Materials was a landowner whose property was suitable for, and used at the time of, Morales’ covered recreational activity. The Supreme Court relied particularly upon the Vigliarolo affidavit and the Brown memo, referencing the ATV use of the sand and gravel pit prior to Morales’ accident, in determining that the pit was suitable for Morales’ recreational activity when he was injured.1

Morales appeals from so much of the Supreme Court’s order as granted that branch of the motion of Coram Materials which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the order insofar as appealed from.

II. The Requirements of General Obligations Law § 9-103

General Obligations Law § 9-103, which is also known as the “recreational use statute,” provides landowners with immunity from liability for ordinary negligence, if a person is injured while engaged in a listed recreational activity upon the landowner’s property. The statute seems counterintuitive, as it abrogates the traditional obligation of property owners, under Basso v Miller (40 NY2d 233 [1976]), to keep property reasonably safe for persons whose presence is foreseeable. The overall purpose of General Obligations Law § 9-103 recognizes the value and importance to New Yorkers of pursuing recreational activities, so that a statute immunizing landowners from liability arising from recreational activities will result in more properties being made available for such uses (see Rivera v Glen Oaks Vil. Owners, Inc., 41 AD3d 817, 818 [2007]).

The language of General Obligations Law § 9-103 contains two expressed principal components and three exceptions. The first principal component provides a list of recreational activities covered by the statute such as hunting, fishing, boating, sledding, horseback riding, and hang gliding, and which specifically includes “motorized vehicle operation for recreational purposes” (see General Obligations Law § 9-103 [1] [a]). The language of the recreational use statute has been specifically [90]*90interpreted to include ATV use (see e.g. Bryant v Smith, 278 AD2d 576 [2000]).

The second principal component of the statute speaks to the issue of duty, namely, that the landowner or lessee owes no duty to keep the premises safe for listed recreational users or to warn of hazardous conditions (see General Obligations Law § 9-103 [1] [a]).

Coram Materials, as the party seeking summary judgment, bore the burden of establishing its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the immunizing effect of the recreational use statute (see Giuffrida v Citibank Corp., 100 NY2d 72, 81 [2003]; Friends of Animals v Associated Fur Mfrs., 46 NY2d 1065, 1067 [1979]; Chiarini v County of Ulster, 9 AD3d 769 [2004]).

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Bluebook (online)
51 A.D.3d 86, 853 N.Y.S.2d 611, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morales-v-coram-materials-corp-nyappdiv-2008.