Opinion
Submitted October 30, 2000.
December 19, 2000.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant Inner Space Systems, Inc., appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (DiBlasi, J.), entered February 17, 2000, as denied its motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims insofar as asserted against it, and the defendants Commissioner of Westchester County Correctional Facility and Westchester County cross-appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of the same order as denied their cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims insofar as asserted against them.
Patrick Colligan (Carol R. Finocchio, New York, N.Y. [Marie R. Hodukavich] of counsel), for appellant-respondent.
Alan D. Scheinkman, County Attorney, White Plains, N.Y. (Stacey Dolgin-Kmetz and Deborah A. Porder of counsel), for respondents-appellants.
John F. De Chiaro, Larchmont, N.Y., for respondent.
Before: WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, J.P., GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, HOWARD MILLER, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed and cross-appealed from, with one bill of costs to the plaintiff.
The Supreme Court properly denied the motion and cross motion for summary judgment. The defendants failed to establish their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law and were not entitled to summary judgment based solely on claimed deficiencies in the plaintiff's pleadings (see, Sterling v. Town of Hempstead, 260 A.D.2d 628; Porter v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 224 A.D.2d 674). The plaintiff is entitled to rely on the inference of a defect raised by the failure of the shelving unit to function as intended (see, Halloranv Virginia Chems., 41 N.Y.2d 386, 388; Smith v. AT T; Resource Mgt. Corp., 259 A.D.2d 480; Dubecky v. S2 Yachts, 234 A.D.2d 501; Coley v. Michelin Tire Corp., 99 A.D.2d 795).