Insufficient Proof of Chipped or Broken Stairwell Step

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after slipping and falling while descending the staircase in the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. There was no question of fact requiring a trial. Landlord’s janitorial supervisor and its janitors testified in pretrial questioning that they had seen no chipped or broken step at the time of the accident, despite many inspections of the stairwell. Tenant submitted photographs showing broken steps in the stairwell, but these were taken four months after the accident, so they weren’t taken within a reasonable time to raise any question of fact. A statement by tenant’s engineer wasn’t sufficient to raise any question of fact either, since his review was based on tenant’s photographs only.

Rios v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 2/25/08, p. 27, col. 3 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Ritter, JP, Santucci, Covello, Carni, JJ)