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Thomas v. City of New York

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Jan 9, 2003
301 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)

Opinion

2748

January 9, 2003.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Marcy Friedman, J.), entered on or about November 7, 2001, which granted defendants' motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Howard A. Suckle, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Marta Ross, Alan S. Adolph, for Defendants-Respondents.

Buckley, J.P., Ellerin, Lerner, Friedman, Marlow, JJ.


A review of plaintiff's deposition testimony, defendant City's photographs of the alleged defect, and the City investigator's report and accompanying affidavit, indicates that the defect alleged to have caused plaintiff's injury was a metal grating barely raised above the adjacent public sidewalk. Although there is no "minimal dimension test," in the absence of other contributing factors, the differential in height between the alleged defect and the sidewalk may "loom large" in determining whether the defect poses a hazard of sufficient magnitude to be actionable (see Trincere v. County of Suffolk, 90 N.Y.2d 976). Inasmuch as plaintiff, in response to defendant's prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, failed to adduce evidence sufficient to raise a triable issue as to whether the alleged defect, although small, nonetheless possessed the characteristics of a trap or snare or was otherwise actionable, the motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint were properly granted (see Alonso v. New York City Tr. Auth., 298 A.D.2d 311, 748 N.Y.S.2d 498; Zaritsky v. City of New York, 248 A.D.2d 211).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.


Summaries of

Thomas v. City of New York

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Jan 9, 2003
301 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)
Case details for

Thomas v. City of New York

Case Details

Full title:DWAYNE THOMAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THE CITY OF NEW YORK, ET AL.…

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

Date published: Jan 9, 2003

Citations

301 A.D.2d 387 (N.Y. App. Div. 2003)
753 N.Y.S.2d 468

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