Premises Liability

Summary judgment was obtained on behalf of our client dismissing plaintiff’s claims for personal injuries allegedly sustained in a slip and fall on water in the vestibule area of an apartment building. This incident occurred well after regular business hours, at 12:00 a.m., during an ongoing rainstorm. Surveillance footage capturing the occurrence showed no visible accumulation of water that could be seen during inspection of the area. Defendant demonstrated that reasonable care was undertaken to maintain the premises in a safe condition and plaintiff’s insistence for continuous remediation of wetness throughout the storm and placement of mats covering the entire lobby floor was a burden not imposed on defendant under New York law. The court held that plaintiff failed to raise triable issues of fact that a dangerous condition existed, which was visible and existed for a sufficient period of time.