Opinion
2016–12282 Index No. 7110/14
03-21-2018
Fabiola ARISTIZABAL, appellant, v. Peter S. KOSTAKOPOULOS, et al., respondents.
Mitchell Dranow, Sea Cliff, NY, for appellant. Rebore, Thorpe & Pisarello, P.C., Farmingdale, N.Y. (Christine M. Gibbons of counsel), for respondents.
Mitchell Dranow, Sea Cliff, NY, for appellant.
Rebore, Thorpe & Pisarello, P.C., Farmingdale, N.Y. (Christine M. Gibbons of counsel), for respondents.
MARK C. DILLON, J.P., LEONARD B. AUSTIN, SANDRA L. SGROI, BETSY BARROS, JJ.
DECISION & ORDERIn an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Walker, J.), dated October 21, 2016, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
On December 19, 2013, the plaintiff allegedly sustained injuries when she fell while ascending the interior staircase of the defendants' building. In May 2014, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendants. After discovery, the defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, contending that the plaintiff could not identify the cause of her fall. The Supreme Court granted the motion, and the plaintiff appeals.A defendant landowner moving for summary judgment dismissing a complaint in a slip- or trip-and-fall action can meet its initial burden by demonstrating that the plaintiff did not know what caused him or her to fall (see Amster v. Kromer, 150 A.D.3d 804, 54 N.Y.S.3d 103 ; Kudrina v. 82–04 Lefferts Tenants Corp., 110 A.D.3d 963, 964, 973 N.Y.S.2d 364 ; Dennis v. Lakhani, 102 A.D.3d 651, 652, 958 N.Y.S.2d 170 ). A plaintiff's inability to identify the cause of the fall is fatal to the cause of action because a finding that the defendant's negligence, if any, proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries would be based on speculation (see Kudrina v. 82–04 Lefferts Tenants Corp., 110 A.D.3d at 964, 973 N.Y.S.2d 364 ; Dennis v. Lakhani, 102 A.D.3d at 652, 958 N.Y.S.2d 170 ).
Here, the defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting, among other things, the plaintiff's deposition testimony, which demonstrated that she could not identify the cause of her fall (see Amster v. Kromer, 150 A.D.3d 804, 54 N.Y.S.3d 103 ; Kudrina v. 82–04 Lefferts Tenants Corp., 110 A.D.3d at 964, 973 N.Y.S.2d 364 ; Kloepfer v. Aslanis, 106 A.D.3d 956, 966 N.Y.S.2d 151 ; Dennis v. Lakhani, 102 A.D.3d at 652, 958 N.Y.S.2d 170 ). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
DILLON, J.P., AUSTIN, SGROI and BARROS, JJ., concur.