Practice point: The Appellate Division affirmed the granting of plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment in this action where it is undisputed that plaintiff was injured when a garage door located on the premises of defendant's service center suddenly came down on him. The Appellate Division found that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is applicable here because the accident was the kind that does not occur in the absence of negligence.
The Appellate Division explained that the motion court properly found that this was one of the rarest of res ipsa loquitor cases where the inference of negligence is inescapable. Defendant failed to present any evidence of an alternative explanation for the accident. Although the facilities manager's affidavit indicated that customers should not be waiting in the area under the garage door, no evidence was provided to refute plaintiff's claim that defendant's employee directed him where to stand.
Student note: Although defendant claimed that plaintiffs' motion was premature because depositions had not yet taken place, it failed to indicate what specific discovery might absolve it from liability to plaintiffs.
Case: Levin v. Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, Inc., NY Slip Op 06025 (1st Dept. 2015)
Here is the decision.
Monday's issue: Circumstantial evidence of negligence.
