Liability for a fall on the Yellow Brick Road?

Plaintiff allegedly tripped and fell on a public sidewalk outside a store leased by defendant, The Wiz, which was denied summary judgment in Bah v. City of New York, et al, decided on March 9, 2007. Noting that, as a lessee, "The Wiz would be liable to a pedestrian injured by a defect in a public sidewalk abutting its property if it created the defect, caused it to occur through some special use, or breached a specific ordinance or statute obligating it to maintain the sidewalk," the Second Department found defendant's showing insufficient to merit judgment as a matter of law. Practitioners should note that this determination is made regardless of the sufficiency of opposing papers.