Opinion
2014-02-20
Angela BEST, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. 1482 MONTGOMERY ESTATES, LLC, Defendant–Respondent.
Spiegel & Barbato, LLP, Bronx (Brian C. Mardon of counsel), for appellant. Armienti, DeBellis, Guglielmo & Rhoden, LLP, New York (Harriet Wong of counsel), for respondent.
Spiegel & Barbato, LLP, Bronx (Brian C. Mardon of counsel), for appellant. Armienti, DeBellis, Guglielmo & Rhoden, LLP, New York (Harriet Wong of counsel), for respondent.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Betty Owen Stinson, J.), entered November 21, 2012, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion denied.
Defendant failed to establish its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff when sheetrock from the ceiling of her apartment fell on her; defendant owned the building. Defendant's submissions included plaintiff's testimony that she had called the office of defendant's building manager several times before the collapse to complain that her bedroom ceiling had a crack and leaked water ( see Govan v. Ft. Sheri Realty Co., 267 A.D.2d 99, 700 N.Y.S.2d 3 [1st Dept.1999];cf. Figueroa v. Goetz, 5 A.D.3d 164, 774 N.Y.S.2d 9 [1st Dept.2004] ). That the building manager's employee denied receiving any such complaints, only created credibility questions for a jury to resolve ( see Asabor v. Archdiocese of N.Y., 102 A.D.3d 524, 527, 961 N.Y.S.2d 17 [1st Dept.2013] ). It cannot be said that plaintiff's testimony was incredible as a matter of law ( see Espinal v. Trezechahn 1065 Ave. of the Ams., LLC, 94 A.D.3d 611, 942 N.Y.S.2d 519 [1st Dept.2012] ), or that it consisted only of feigned issues of fact ( see Glick & Dolleck v. Tri–Pac Export Corp., 22 N.Y.2d 439, 441, 293 N.Y.S.2d 93, 239 N.E.2d 725 [1968];compare Beahn v. New York Yankees Partnership, 89 A.D.3d 589, 590, 934 N.Y.S.2d 7 [1st Dept.2011] ). GONZALEZ, P.J., TOM, SAXE, FREEDMAN, MANZANET–DANIELS, JJ., concur.