Opinion
May 11, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Polizzi, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs to the respondent's appearing separately and filing separate briefs.
It is well settled that a party moving for summary judgment must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, offering sufficient evidence to eliminate any material issues of fact (see, Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851; Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557; Matter of Bebirian, 241 A.D.2d 549). The appellant here failed to establish its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law (see, Broyles v. Defelice, 236 A.D.2d 573). There are factual issues regarding the appellant's responsibilities for the maintenance of a steel plate and the safeguarding of pedestrian traffic at the work site. There are also factual issues as to whether the plaintiff's accident was caused by the steel plate itself, or by the snow and ice that accumulated on it. Therefore, since triable issues of fact exist, summary judgment was properly denied.
Ritter, J.P., Goldstein, McGinity and Luciano, JJ., concur.