July 20, 2018

DSB was successful in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of a homeowner in Staten Island. Plaintiff, a teacher at a local school, claimed to have slipped and fallen on the sidewalk adjacent to defendant’s property as she was walking to work. The Court found that plaintiff’s fall occurred during an ongoing storm, establishing defendant’s prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. While plaintiff asserted that the dangerous condition pre-existed the storm and was attributable to poor removal efforts, the Court was satisfied with defendant’s unrebutted testimony that the sidewalk had been cleared down to the concrete based upon photographs taken 20 minutes post-incident which confirmed that there was only a trace amount of snow on the ground which was from the ongoing storm.