The Appellate Division affirmed denial of defendant's motion for dismissal in this action where the plaintiff, a school employee, alleges that, while walking in a hallway, she slipped and fell on water after the floor had been mopped by a nonparty employee of the defendant.
The Appellate Division found that plaintiff's affidavit presents a triable issue of fact as to whether a there was a special employee relationship between the school and the nonparty employee. Plaintiff set forth that no one from the school supervised his work or directed his daily schedule, and that the school did not provide him with equipment or a uniform.
Practice point: The motion court properly considered plaintiff's affidavit, as it did not contradict her deposition testimony. In addition, plaintiff's deposition testimony and affidavit provide a non-speculative basis for her account of the accident, and sufficiently demonstrates a nexus between the hazardous condition and the circumstances of her fall, because she testified that immediately after she fell she saw that the floor was wet and that nearby there was a janitor's cart with wet floor signs attached to it.
Case: Cartagena v. Access Staffing, LLC, NY Slip Op 05025 (1st Dep't June 20, 2017)
Here is the decision.
Tomorrow's issue: Claims for prima facie tort and tortious interference.
