Narrative Opinion Summary
In this personal injury case, the defendant appealed a Supreme Court order that denied its motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint. The case arose from an incident on March 14, 1993, where the plaintiff slipped and fell on a walkway of the defendant's premises due to snow and ice. The defendant contended that it should not be held liable as it neither owned nor controlled the walkway and had no reasonable opportunity to clear it because the snowstorm was ongoing. The court emphasized that for a summary judgment motion to succeed, the moving party must demonstrate the absence of any material factual disputes. Moreover, the legal principle was reiterated that property owners are liable for hazardous conditions from snow or ice only after a reasonable period following a storm's conclusion. The defendant's submissions, including an affidavit and newspaper articles, were found inadequate to fulfill this burden. Consequently, the court affirmed the denial of the motion, allowing for its renewal post-completion of pretrial depositions. Judges Bracken, Balletta, Thompson, and Hart concurred with the decision, leaving the complaint intact for further proceedings.
Legal Issues Addressed
Burden of Proof in Summary Judgmentsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The defendant's evidence was insufficient to meet the burden of proof required to show the absence of material issues.
Reasoning: The defendant's evidence, which included an affidavit and newspaper articles about the storm, was deemed insufficient to meet the burden of proof required to show the absence of material issues.
Liability for Snow and Ice Accumulationsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The case reaffirmed that property owners can only be held liable for hazardous conditions from snow or ice accumulation after a reasonable time following the end of a storm.
Reasoning: It is established that property owners can only be held liable for hazardous conditions from snow or ice accumulation after a reasonable time following the end of a storm.
Summary Judgment Standardssubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court held that the defendant failed to demonstrate the absence of material issues of fact necessary for summary judgment.
Reasoning: To succeed in a summary judgment motion, a party must demonstrate there are no material issues of fact.