From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Cuce v. Bell Atlantic Corp.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 12, 2002
299 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)

Opinion

2001-07830

Argued October 10, 2002.

November 12, 2002.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Jones, J.), dated July 12, 2001, which denied its motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

McAndrew, Conboy Prisco, Woodbury, N.Y. (Robert M. Ortiz of counsel), for appellant.

Subin Associates, LLP, (Pollack, Pollack, Isaac DeCicco, New York, N.Y. [Christopher W. Ambler and Brian J. Isaac] of counsel), for respondent.

Before: SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, BARRY A. COZIER, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, and the complaint is dismissed.

In March 1998 the plaintiff was employed by Bell Atlantic Mobile (hereinafter Bell Mobile), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the defendant Bell Atlantic Corporation (hereinafter Bell Atlantic). While working at one of Bell Mobile's stores, she allegedly sustained personal injuries when she tripped and fell over a telephone cord leading from a wall to a telephone on a sales counter. She brought the instant action against Bell Atlantic to recover damages for the personal injuries that she allegedly sustained.

The Supreme Court improperly denied Bell Atlantic's motion for summary judgment. Generally, "liability for a dangerous condition on real property must be predicated upon occupancy, ownership, control, or special use of the premises" (Elbert v. J.F.V. Enter. Co., 234 A.D.2d 413; see Rosenbloom v. City of New York, 254 A.D.2d 474; Libby v. Waldbaum's Inc., 213 A.D.2d 457; Balsam v. Delma Eng'g Corp., 139 A.D.2d 292). In the instant case, Bell Atlantic established a prima facie case that it owed no duty to the plaintiff by submitting evidence which demonstrated that it had nothing to do with Bell Mobile's store, and that it did not install or maintain the telephone cord over which the plaintiff allegedly tripped and fell. The plaintiff's affidavit in opposition to Bell Atlantic's motion, in which she claimed that Bell Atlantic installed and maintained the telephone cord, was insufficient to raise a triable question of fact on the issue since it contradicted her prior deposition testimony (see Hernandez v. Seven Fried Food, 292 A.D.2d 343; Barretta v. Trump Plaza Hotel Cassino, 278 A.D.2d 262; Regina v. Friedman, 272 A.D.2d 461; Califano v. Campaniello, 243 A.D.2d 528).

In light of this determination, we need not address Bell Atlantic's remaining contention.

FEUERSTEIN, J.P., S. MILLER, FRIEDMANN and COZIER, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Cuce v. Bell Atlantic Corp.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Nov 12, 2002
299 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)
Case details for

Cuce v. Bell Atlantic Corp.

Case Details

Full title:DONNA CUCE, respondent, v. BELL ATLANTIC CORPORATION, appellant

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Nov 12, 2002

Citations

299 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)
749 N.Y.S.2d 445

Citing Cases

Weinberg v. City of New York

The testimony given by the plaintiff's decedent at the hearing conducted pursuant to General Municipal Law §…

Rodgers v. Miller

The Supreme Court improperly denied the appellant's motion for summary judgment. Generally, "liability for a…