Security Guard Injured in Slip and Fall

A security guard, who worked for an outside company, sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell on cooking oil that had leaked from a bag sitting on the stairs between the fifth and sixth floors of landlord's building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial, claiming that it wasn't responsible for the guard's injuries. The court ruled for landlord. The guard appealed, and the case was reopened. In pretrial questioning, a tenant stated that she saw the guard shortly after the accident and also saw an oily bag. A guard who worked an earlier shift also stated that nine hours earlier he saw an oil-filled bag at that location, threw the bag away, and cleaned the area with a damp mop he got from a janitor's closet. A trial was needed to determine whether landlord had notice of the condition and whether it was cleared by the guard's coworker.

Brown v. Parrocks Associates: NYLJ, 11/1/11, p. 18, col. 6 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Andrias, JP, Sweeny, Acosta, Freedman, Manzanet-Daniels, JJ)