Munoz v. Isabella Geriatric Ctr. Inc.

2025 NY Slip Op 31334(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedApril 17, 2025
DocketIndex No. 152490/2017
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2025 NY Slip Op 31334(U) (Munoz v. Isabella Geriatric Ctr. Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Munoz v. Isabella Geriatric Ctr. Inc., 2025 NY Slip Op 31334(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2025).

Opinion

Munoz v Isabella Geriatric Ctr. Inc. 2025 NY Slip Op 31334(U) April 17, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 152490/2017 Judge: Margaret A. Chan Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 152490/2017 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 228 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK: PART 49M ------------------------------- ---------------------X

JOSEPH MUNOZ, INDEX NO. 152490/2017

Plaintiff, 08/07/2024, MOTION DATE 09/24/2024 - V -

!SABELLA GERIATRIC CENTER INC.,JANET TORRES MOTION SEQ. NO. 008 009

Defendant. DECISION+ ORDER ON MOTION --------------------------------------------- --X

HON. MARGARET A CHAN:

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 008) 206, 207, 208, 209, 210,213,214,221,222,224 were read on this motion to/for REARGUMENT/RECONSIDERATION

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 009) 215,216,217,218, 219,220,223,225 were read on this motion to/for VACATE - DECISION/ORDER/JUDGMENT/AWARD

Plaintiff Joseph Munoz, as Executor of the Estate of Maria Campoverde, brings this personal injury action against defendants Isabella Geriatric Center, Inc. (Isabella Center), a nursing home in which Campoverde was a patient, and defendant Janet Torres, an employee at Isabella Center at the relevant times. In two separate prior motions, defendants had moved for summary judgment/partial summary judgment. Torres' motion was granted in its entirety, and the complaint was dismissed as against her. Partial summary judgment was granted to Isabella Center's motion. Plaintiff failed to timely oppose the motions despite the several adjournments afforded him, and defendants' request to reject his untimely opposition was granted. Isabella Center now moves for reargument/clarification of the prior order (MS 008) and plaintiff moves to vacate the prior order, and upon consideration of plaintiffs opposition paper to defendants' respective summary judgment motions, deny the defendants' motions (MS 009).

As explained below, Isabella Center's motion for reargument is granted only to the extent that on the SAC is reviewed; and upon reargument, its motion for

152490/2017 MUNOZ, JOSEPH vs. !SABELLA GERIATRIC CENTER INC. Page 1 of 10 Motion No. 008 009

1 of 10 [* 1] INDEX NO. 152490/2017 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 228 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2025

summary judgment on causes of action not previously considered and decided by this court's Decision and Order dated June 18, 2024, is denied. And plaintiffs motion to vacate the prior order is denied for failure to show a meritorious claim on the intentional tort claim against Torres and the attendant negligence claims against Isabelle Center.

MS 008 -Motion for Reargument/Clarification

The facts of this action are detailed in the prior order (see MS 008 - NYSCEF # 209, Decision and Order of this court dated June 18, 2024). Briefly, the relevant facts to this motion to reargU:e (MS 008) are as follows:

Maria Campoverde, who was 88 years of age 1 when she was admitted to Isabella Center on November 20, 2014, resided there under Isabella Center's care until June 12, 2017. This action arose from the following allegation. Plaintiff alleges that defendant Torres, who worked as a housekeeper, nurse, or nurse's aide at Isabella Center, pushed her from behind and caused her to fall on April 10, 2016, which caused a fracture to her femur. Thus, plaintiff files suit against Torres for this alleged intentional tort, and against Isabella Center for negligence among other claims.

Immediately prior to her admission to Isabella Center, Campoverde was at New York-Presbytarian Hospital (the Hospital), where she was diagnosed with dementia, moderately impaired cognition, type II diabetes, cataracts, chronic joint pain, frequent falls, chronic urinary tract infections (UTI), and dehydration, among other illnesses (NYSCEF # 118 - Hospital's medical records). The Hospital also assessed Campoverde as a "fall risk" with of score of 14 meaning "high risk for falls due to inability to get out of bed or chair without assistance ...." and had a history of falls (NYSCEF # 118- Hospital records at 53·54). Per the history obtained by the Hospital from Campoverde's daughter, who was Campoverde's primary caregiver, Campoverde was "severely cognitively impaired (would know her name, but not place or time, and may or may not identify family members) requiring 24hr supervision by family at home ... ;" (Hospital Records at 66).

On April 10, 2016, while at Isabella Center, Campoverde fell while going to the bathroom. As a result, she sustained a fracture of the right distal femur. Plaintiff alleges that Torres pushed or bumped Campoverde causing her to fall and blames Isabella Center for failing to prevent Torres from doing so.

1 While plaintiff states that Campoverde was 86 years old, all her medical records, including Isabella Center's, state that she was 88 years old.

152490/2017 MUNOZ, JOSEPH vs. lSABELLA GERIATRIC CENTER INC. Page 2 of 10 Motion No. 008 009

2 of 10 [* 2] INDEX NO. 152490/2017 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 228 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2025

The only record that reflected Campoverde's claim about Torres pushing her and causing her to fall appears in the Hospital's Orthopedic Surgery Consult Note (Consult Note), which stated that "[Campoverde] normally uses a wheelchair for commute. [Campoverde] suffered a mechanical fall 2 days ago when she was using a RW to go to the bathroom without an aide when someone pushed her from behind. She landed directly onto her knee on the toilet" (NYSCEF # 118 at 238). The Consult Note also recorded that "no family member or healthcare provider could reliably relay the course of event for the patient at the time of interview" and noted that the history was obtained from electronic chart, records, the patient's daughter/ granddaughter and the patient" (NYSCEF # 118 at 238).

Both Isabella Center and the Police Department separately conducted an investigation into Campoverde's claim that Torres pushed her. Both investigations found no violations or wrongdoing (NYSCEF # 143 - NYSDOH Investigation Records, bates stamped pages 65-66; NYSCEF # 145 - Police Report). Dr. Alcantara, a psychiatrist, was interviewed as part of the investigation. His psychiatric notes reported that the family believed Campoverde's allegations and denied Campoverde's history of dementia claiming that her memory is fine despite their previous accounts to him .. The family denied Campoverde's history of dementia to the police. But Dr. Alcantara assessed Campoverde with a long-standing unremitting and worsening history of dementia, a history of behavioral disturbances, and depression. Dr. Alcantara testified that after the investigation, Campoverde's son, Ariosto Mendieta, who disagreed with and was upset about Dr. Alcantara's assessment on Campoverde's severe dementia, chased him down to not write down that assessment (NYSCEF # 152, Alcantara tr at 45·47).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hogan v. Schwartz
119 A.D.3d 650 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2014)
DeFazio v. Berley Realty Corp.
259 A.D.2d 266 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2025 NY Slip Op 31334(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/munoz-v-isabella-geriatric-ctr-inc-nysupctnewyork-2025.