Iniguez v. Astor Realty Corp. et al.
Queens Supreme Court grants BB&H motion for summary judgment on a trip and fall in front of a commercial property (our client) and an adjacent private residence. Plaintiff was walking his dog just after midnight when he fell on a decline in the sidewalk from our client’s driveway into the driveway of the adjacent private residence. Plaintiff alleges that as a result of the fall he was required to undergo an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and partial medial meniscectomy. Plaintiff argued that the decline was a hazardous condition, and that it straddled the border between the two driveways. BB&H argued that the photographs make it clear that the portion that caused the fall was fully on the residential driveway, and that it was “caused or created” by the owner of that home. Both defendants argued that the defect was a “trivial defect”. We also argued that since the area that straddled the property line had become part of the residential driveway for more than twenty years, even if it included a small area of our client’s property it was now “adversely possessed” by the homeowner, eliminating our duty to pedestrians. The Court considered both motions, and granted our motion and denied the motion of co-defendant.