Norton v. Cohen
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; March 15, 1998; New York; State Appellate Court
In a personal injury case, the plaintiff appeals from two rulings by the Supreme Court of Nassau County: (1) an order granting Getty Petroleum Corporation's motion for summary judgment to dismiss the complaint against it, and (2) a subsequent judgment that confirmed this dismissal and severed the case against other defendants. The appellate court dismissed the appeal from the order due to the termination of the right to a direct appeal once the judgment was entered, while affirming the judgment itself. The plaintiff, who was bitten by a dog at a gas station allegedly owned by Conduit Gas, Inc. and Mosha Cohen, claimed that Getty breached a duty of care based on a distributor agreement with Petroleum Distributors, Inc. (PDI), which supplied gasoline from Getty. The court found that Getty established it owed no duty of care to the plaintiff under the agreement. The burden then shifted to the plaintiff to provide evidence necessitating a trial, which he failed to do, as he could not demonstrate that Getty inspected the premises or was aware of any dangerous conditions. Additionally, the mere display of a Getty sign was insufficient to impose a duty of care. Other arguments presented by the plaintiff were deemed without merit. The decision was supported by Judges Copertino, Altman, Florio, and Luciano.