May 2, 2021

Summary judgment in a slip and fall action.

The Appellate Division unanimously the Order which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs. Defendant established prima facie that the complaint should be dismissed by showing that it had no actual or constructive notice of the wet condition of the stairs that plaintiff alleges caused her to slip and fall. Defendant submitted testimony by the supervisor of its building caretakers, evidence of the janitorial cleaning schedules for the building, and an affidavit by the building's caretaker that she fulfilled her regularly scheduled cleaning duties in the late afternoon of the day before plaintiff's accident, as well as the morning of the accident at about the time of the accident, that during each inspection she found the staircase clean, dry, and free of debris, and that otherwise she would have immediately addressed any dangerous condition she observed. In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact via her expert opinion, prepared four years after the action was commenced, which introduced new theories of liability notwithstanding her testimony that she believed that the alleged water hazard was the sole cause of the accident.  Even if, as plaintiff's expert contends, the stairs were otherwise defective, defendants are entitled to summary judgment, because there is no evidence that these defects contributed to the accident.

Villar v. New York City Hous. Auth., NY Slip Op 02505 (1st Dep't April 27, 20210

Here is the decision.