May 2013

The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed in its entirety the decision of Justice Lizbeth Gonzalez (Supreme Court, Bronx County) which granted our motion for summary judgment on an trip and fall accident.  Ellie S. Konstantatos successfully argued that the defendant established its entitlement to summary judgment based upon photographic and testimonial evidence establishing that the alleged condition, a vertical support of a bumper which ran along the base of a refrigerated display case, was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous.  Despite plaintiff’s argument that the condition was obscured from her view as she stood a few inches in front of the refrigerated display unit and her claim that she did not observe the condition, the Court held that the alleged condition was neither hidden or obscured. 

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The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed in its entirety the decision of New York Court Supreme Court Justice Briganti-Hughes which granted our motion for summary judgment on an elevator accident claim.  Thomas B. Hayn successfully argued that plaintiff was barred from recovery from our client based on the Workers’ Compensation exclusivity defense by demonstrating that an actual employer-employee relationship existed between our client and plaintiff.  The court also agreed that plaintiff’s act of jumping from the stalled elevator was an unforeseeable, superseding cause of his own accident.