From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Dima v. Breslin Realty, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 2, 1997
240 A.D.2d 359 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

Opinion

June 2, 1997

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Doyle, J.).


Ordered that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

The plaintiff was injured when she tripped on a piece of plastic baling wire in the parking lot located on the north side of a shopping mall, and commenced this action against the owner of the mall, the defendant Sears Roebuck and Co., the tenant, the defendant Breslin Realty Co., and the company responsible for cleaning the area, the defendant Meadowbrook Parking. The defendants separately moved for summary judgment, and met the initial burden of showing that they lacked actual or constructive notice that a dangerous condition existed in the parking lot. Moreover, the plaintiff does not contend, and there is no evidence in the record, that any of the defendants created this condition.

In order to establish a prima facie case of negligence, the plaintiff had to demonstrate either that the defendants created the dangerous or defective condition which caused the accident, or that they had actual or constructive notice of the condition (see, Gordon v. American Museum of Natural History, 67 N.Y.2d 836; Pirillo v. Longwood Assocs., 179 A.D.2d 744). We agree with the Supreme Court that the plaintiff failed to present sufficient proof to raise a question of fact concerning her contention that the defendants had actual or constructive notice of the condition which caused her fall. Contrary to the plaintiff's contention, the testimony of the mall security guard that he saw a piece of white nylon cord earlier in the day in the parking lot on a sidewalk on the south side of the mall was legally insufficient to constitute notice of the particular condition which caused the plaintiff's fall (see, Piacquadio v. Recine Realty Corp., 84 N.Y.2d 967; Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557).

Bracken, J.P., Sullivan, Pizzuto and Krausman, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Dima v. Breslin Realty, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 2, 1997
240 A.D.2d 359 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
Case details for

Dima v. Breslin Realty, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:FRANCIS L. DIMA, Appellant, v. BRESLIN REALTY, INC., et al., Respondents

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

Date published: Jun 2, 1997

Citations

240 A.D.2d 359 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
658 N.Y.S.2d 115

Citing Cases

Spohn-Konen v. Town of Brookhaven

" In order to establish a prima facie case of negligence, a plaintiff has to demonstrate either that the…

LaRock v. State

The claimant must "demonstrate either that the defendants created the dangerous or defective condition which…