Opinion
11-16-2016
Stacey BLAZEJEWSKI, appellant, v. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, respondent.
Dell & Dean, PLLC (Mischel & Horn, P.C., New York, NY [Scott T. Horn, Naomi M. Taub, and Arshia Hourizadeh], of counsel), for appellant. Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York, NY (Fay S. Ng and Ingrid R. Gustafson of counsel), for respondent.
Dell & Dean, PLLC (Mischel & Horn, P.C., New York, NY [Scott T. Horn, Naomi M. Taub, and Arshia Hourizadeh], of counsel), for appellant.
Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel, New York, NY (Fay S. Ng and Ingrid R. Gustafson of counsel), for respondent.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals, as limited by her brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Kerrigan, J.), dated January 20, 2015, as granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
The plaintiff alleges that, on or about July 24, 2008, she was injured when she slipped and fell on water on the vestibule floor of a building owned by the defendant. Thereafter, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendant. The defendant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, contending that it did not create the alleged hazardous condition or have actual or constructive notice of it. The Supreme Court granted the motion.
A defendant who moves for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the initial burden of making a prima facie showing that it neither created the alleged dangerous condition nor had actual or constructive notice of its existence for a sufficient length of time to discover and remedy it (see Milorava v. Lord & Taylor Holdings, LLC, 133 A.D.3d 724, 725, 20 N.Y.S.3d 398 ; Jordan v. Juncalito Abajo Meat Corp., 131 A.D.3d 1012, 16 N.Y.S.3d 278 ; Beceren v. Joan Realty, LLC, 124 A.D.3d 572, 2 N.Y.S.3d 155 ; Payen v. Western Beef Supermarket, 106 A.D.3d 710, 964 N.Y.S.2d 583 ). Here, the defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that it did not create the alleged hazardous condition in the vestibule or have actual or constructive notice of it (see Paduano v. 686 Forest Ave., LLC, 119 A.D.3d 845, 845–846, 989 N.Y.S.2d 379 ; Valentin v. Shoprite of Chester, 105 A.D.3d 1036, 1037, 965 N.Y.S.2d 510 ). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to submit evidence sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
CHAMBERS, J.P., DICKERSON, DUFFY and CONNOLLY, JJ., concur.