Summary Judgment Granted: Complaint Dismissed Against Building Managing Agent Arising From Slip And Fall Accident On Public Sidewalk

Sobel Pevzner, LLC by its Partner, David Goldman Esq. defended a management company which had been named in a lawsuit arising from a slip and fall accident on an adjacent public sidewalk due the alleged presence of an oily substance.  The plaintiff sustained severe injuries including fractures of the femur and hip requiring multiple surgeries including internal fixation of the hip fracture.

In its Summary Judgment Motion, David Goldman for the firm argued in support of three primary defenses:  (1) The management Company, bore no duty of care over the  sidewalk; (2) The firm’s client did not have actual or constructive notice of the oily greasy substance; and (3) The client’s acts and/or omissions were not the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. The motion was opposed by the Plaintiff and the Co-Defendant Carting Company.

In a lengthy and well-reasoned decision, Justice Arlene Bluth of the New York State Supreme Court, New York County, granted summary judgment. The decision cites frequently to the body of case law set forth in the defendant’s brief and the deposition testimony of the parties set forth in support of the common law.  In dismissing the Complaint and all cross claims against our client, the Court agreed with the arguments advanced by the firm on all three grounds, to wit; the firm’s client bore no duty to maintain the sidewalk where plaintiff fell, but assuming arguendo that a duty existed, there was no evidence of actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition; and,  finally that even if there had been notice, the acts and/or omissions of the management company was not a proximate cause of plaintiff’s accident.

David Goldman

Partner -Sobel Pevzner, LLC