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Mendes v. Whitney-Floral Realty Corp.
Citations: 216 A.D.2d 540; 629 N.Y.S.2d 63; 1995 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7089
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; June 26, 1995; New York; State Appellate Court
In a personal injury case, the Incorporated Village of Floral Park appealed a Supreme Court order that denied its motion for summary judgment to dismiss the complaint against it. The appellate court reversed the lower court's decision, granting the Village's motion and dismissing the complaint. The Village Code § 6-628 stipulates that no civil action can be maintained against the village for injuries related to defective public infrastructure unless written notice of the defect was provided to the Village Clerk prior to the incident. The Village presented evidence showing it had not received any written complaints regarding the parking lot where the plaintiff was injured prior to the accident on December 26, 1990. In response, the plaintiff submitted an affidavit from a professional engineer asserting that a defect existed due to improper subsoil conditions present since the parking lot's installation. However, the court found this affidavit lacked foundational facts and was merely conclusory and speculative, failing to create a genuine issue of material fact. The plaintiff contended that the Village Code did not apply since the parking lot was not classified as a highway. The appellate court referenced previous rulings indicating that “highway” encompasses paved surfaces open to public traffic, including parking lots. The court concluded that the Village had demonstrated it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law due to the absence of prior written notice of the alleged defect, thus affirming the dismissal of the complaint against the Village.