In Cianfano v. Village of Tuckahoe, the District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed a personal injury case where an injured plaintiff brought suit against the local township and its police department after his suit against the driver was dismissed. In his suit, he alleged violations of his rights under federal and state law. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the issue of whether the driver was working under the scope of employment had been raised, fully and fairly litigated, and adjudicated against plaintiff in the prior lawsuit. The court agreed with defendants and found
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Archives for General Liability
New Jersey Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court’s Holding That Plaintiff Could Not Demonstrate Proximate Cause for Her Accident in Personal Injury Suit
In Winstead v. Yorkshire Village, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to a landlord in a personal injury suit. Plaintiff brought suit against the landlord after she was injured by a malfunctioning automatic exterior entry door at her apartment building. The trial court determined that the malfunctioning door was not the proximate cause of Plaintiff’s injuries because Plaintiff did not have a reasonable fear of being struck by it. The appellate court disagreed and held that a genuine issue of disputed material fact precluded entry of summary judgment for the landlord. Plaintiff was
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New York Trial Court Denies Bar Owner’s Motion for Summary Judgment After Plaintiff’s Expert Affidavit Creates Fact Issues Regarding Reasonableness of Security Measures at Bar
In Gaskin v. OBMP-NY LLC, the New York Supreme Court considered a personal injury suit against a bar owner, his landlord and the bar’s security company for injuries arising from a fight that broke out in the bar. OBMP-NY, the bar owner who leased the property from landlord 701 West 135, orally contracted 5Points to provide security services for the bar. Plaintiff sought to impose liability on 701 West 135 under the theory that the landlord could not avoid liability under Real Property Law § 231, which provides that the owner of real property who knowingly leases it to be
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Eastern District of Pennsylvania Grants Summary Judgment to Store in Slip and Fall Negligence Action
In Thomas v. Family Dollar Stores of Pennsylvania, LLC, the district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania considered a premises liability action brought by a shopper due to injuries she received when she slipped and fell in a thick, yellow substance on the floor of an aisle at a Family Dollar retail store. The court granted summary judgment to the store, holding that Family Dollar owed no duty to the shopper and that no evidence existed that could show Family Dollar had constructive notice of the spill prior to the shopper’s fall. Plaintiff argued that Family Dollar was negligent
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New Jersey Appellate Division Affirms Summary Judgment for Defendant in Premises Liability Action Finding That No Dangerous Conditions Existed That Caused Plaintiff’s Accident and That Plaintiff Was Aware of the Conditions and Possible Risks of the Property
In Platvoet v. Mancini, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, considered a premises liability case arising from the plaintiff’s fall into her mother’s pool while pulling a tarp over the water. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and subsequently denied plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration of the judgment. Plaintiff appealed and argued that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding the presence of a dangerous condition on the property that precluded the entry of summary judgment. Her argument was based on competing expert engineering reports produced by plaintiff and defendant about whether a dangerous condition
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New Jersey Law Division Holds That Waiver in Condominium Bylaws Precludes Insurer of Unit From Pursuing Subrogation Claim Against Condominium Association
In Universal North American Ins. Co. v. Bridgepointe Condominium Ass’n, the Law Division of the New Jersey Superior Court for Middlesex County examined a subrogation action brought by an insurer arising from a fire at a condominium unit. After paying a claim for damage to the unit, the insurer commenced a subrogation action against the condominium association and other entities for the failure to maintain the property. The condominium association filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that its by-laws precluded insurers of condominium residents from pursuing subrogation claims against the association. The Court began its analysis of the motion
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New Jersey Appellate Division Holds That Restaurant Landlord Is Not Liable for Accident Resulting from Obstruction of Doorway
In Gross v. Fotinos Enterprises, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, examined an action arising from an accident at a restaurant where the plaintiff worked. The plaintiff tripped and fell over a cinder block used to prop open an exterior door at the restaurant, sustaining injuries to her arm and shoulder. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the building’s landlord, claiming that the landlord breached a duty to inspect the property pursuant to the lease agreement and enforce lease violations. The lease agreement was a triple-net lease that required the lessee to maintain and repair the property. The
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New Jersey Appellate Division Holds That Condominium Association Has No Duty to Plow Roadways During Snowstorm
In Kerton v. Society Hill at Droyers Point Condo. Ass’n, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division examined a lawsuit arising from an accident at a condominium development. After responding to a medical emergency during a snowstorm, a police officer slipped on a snow-covered road, landing on her back and hitting her head on the road. The police officer sued the condominium association and the contractor retained to remove snow from the development. Under the terms of its contract with the association, the contractor was required to plow snowfalls of two inches or more, and was required to make an
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New York Supreme Court Denies Motion for Protective Order Regarding Instagram Account
In Smith v. Brown, the Supreme Court of Bronx County, New York examined a motion for protective order regarding requests for admissions pertaining to the plaintiff’s Instagram account. The underlying case concerned a motor vehicle accident that purportedly resulted in serious injuries. The defendant served the plaintiff with requests for admission as to whether a certain Instagram account belonged to the plaintiff, whether the plaintiff had recently changed the account to “private,” and whether certain photographs and videos on the account belonged to the plaintiff and were taken after the subject accident. While most of the photographs on the account
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New Jersey Appellate Court Holds Negligence Claims May be Pursued Against Apartment Landlords for Failure to Cover Radiators
In J.H. v. R&M Tagliareni, LLC, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, examined a lawsuit regarding burns to an infant. The infant was staying at the apartment of his stepmother’s sister and sleeping on a bed next to a radiator. While sleeping, the infant rested his head against the radiator and suffered third-degree burns. The burns resulted in permanent scarring. The radiator was controlled by a shut-off valve, and became extremely hot once the valve was opened. There was no thermostat to control the temperature of the radiator. While some radiators in the apartment building had been covered several
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