Morrison Mahoney Partner Demi Sophocleous obtained summary judgment from Queens County Supreme Court in a premises liability action.
The plaintiff alleged that she tripped/slipped and fell due to negligent snow removal and/or a defective condition on the floor of a building’s lobby. At her deposition, she testified that the front entrance of the building had been completely cleared of snow prior to her fall. Although the plaintiff testified that she fell as she entered the lobby and that there was no floor mat present at that time, she was unable to articulate the cause of her fall. In opposition to defendant’s summary judgment motion, the plaintiff submitted an affidavit from an engineer who inspected the lobby several months following her accident. The engineer stated that the absence of a floor mat created a slipping hazard, in particular on a snowy and/or rainy day like the date of the plaintiff’s accident. The court focused on the plaintiff’s testimony as highlighted in the defendant’s summary judgment motion and agreed that defendant was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Prior to filing the summary judgment motion, the plaintiff’s demand was $750,000
