Opinion
2016–1631 K C
01-12-2018
Vannessa HALL, Respondent, v. LINDEN BOULEVARD MULTIPLEX CINEMAS, Appellant.
The Law Offices of John W. Manning, P.C. (Maureen A. Sockett, Esq.), for appellant. Vannessa Hall, respondent pro se (no brief filed)
The Law Offices of John W. Manning, P.C. (Maureen A. Sockett, Esq.), for appellant.
Vannessa Hall, respondent pro se (no brief filed)
PRESENT: MICHELLE WESTON, J.P., THOMAS P. ALIOTTA, DAVID ELLIOT, JJ.
ORDERED that the judgment is reversed, without costs, and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for the entry of a judgment dismissing the action.
Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover for injuries sustained as a result of bedbug bites which she had allegedly incurred while she was watching a movie in defendant's theater. Following a nonjury trial, the Civil Court, in a judgment entered September 29, 2015, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $235. Defendant appeals from the judgment.
In a small claims action, our review is limited to a determination of whether "substantial justice has ... been done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law" ( CCA 1807 ; see CCA 1804 ; Ross v. Friedman , 269 AD2d 584 [2000] ; Williams v. Roper , 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000] ).
While a theater owner has a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, it cannot be an insurer of the safety of its patrons, and its duty is only to exercise reasonable care for their protection (see Gilson v. Metropolitan Opera , 5 NY3d 574 [2005] ). "An owner of a theater or stadium is not liable for injuries caused by a defective condition on the premises unless the owner created the condition or there is actual or constructive notice of the defect that caused the injury. Constructive notice results when the condition has existed for a sufficient length of time that in the exercise of reasonable care the owner should have known of the existence of the defect" (4–161 Warren's Negligence in New York Courts § 161.01 [4] ). As plaintiff did not show either that defendant had created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of the condition, the judgment in her favor failed to render substantial justice (see CCA 1804, 1807 ).
Accordingly, the judgment is reversed and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for the entry of a judgment dismissing the action.
WESTON, J.P., ALIOTTA and ELLIOT, JJ., concur.