Collapsed ceiling, and late discovery demands.

Practice point: Plaintiff's complaints of the collapse of her bathroom ceiling and portions of her living room ceiling 15 months before the collapse of the living room ceiling raise an issue of fact whether defendants were on constructive notice of a defect. To the extent the record is ambiguous as to the cause of the ceiling collapse, there are issues of fact as to defendants' duty to inspect the ceilings and the applicability of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.

Student note: Since defendants did not disclose the existence of documents previously ordered produced, or the identity of a witness with knowledge until their deposition just before the note of issue was filed, plaintiff's last-minute renewed demand for this discovery was justified.

Case: Lisbey v. Pel Park Realty, NY Slip Op 07212 (1st Dept. 2012).

Here is the decision.

Tomorrow’s issue: Liability when a non-owner is driving.