Opinion
Submitted March 3, 2000.
April 20, 2000.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants third-party plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Lonschein, J.), dated December 30, 1998, which granted the third-party defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint.
Marshall and Bellard, Garden City, N.Y. (Joseph C. Bellard of counsel), for defendants third-party plaintiffs-appellants.
Bivona Cohen, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Mary Y.J. Kim of counsel), for third-party defendants-respondents.
DANIEL W. JOY, J.P., WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The respondents owned a snowblower which they had loaned to an employee of the appellants. The plaintiff was injured when he stuck his hand in the chute of the snowblower.
Gratuitous bailors only owe a duty to warn borrowers of any known defects which are not obvious or readily discernible (see,Sukljian v. Ross Son Co., 69 N.Y.2d 89 ; Acampora v. Acampora, 194 A.D.2d 757, 758 ; Ruggiero v. Max Braun Sons Inc., 141 A.D.2d 528, 529 ). There is no evidence in the record, other than the conclusory and speculative affidavit of the appellants' expert, that the snowblower was defective. Thus, the respondents were entitled to summary judgment (see, Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562 ; Glorioso v. Schnabel, 253 A.D.2d 787 ; Kracker v. Spartan Chem. Co., 183 A.D.2d 810, 812 ).