Slip-and-Fall/Negligent Design and Construction Case Dismissed Due to Inadequate Expert

In Shuttleworth v. Saint Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church in Middle Village, et al (Index No. 703517/19, Queens County, decided on or around October 14, 2022), the Appellate Division, Second Department reiterated the importance of a plaintiff’s expert, in a slip-and-fall/premise liability case which alleges negligent design and construction of property, to include in his or her opinion any “violations of industry-wide standards or accepted practices.”

 

In Shuttleworth, the plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell on a metal drainage grate located within the defendant’s exterior parking lot in Queens.  At the time, it was raining, and the wet condition of the metal grating allegedly caused the plaintiff to slip, fall and sustain serious injuries.  Thereafter, the plaintiff commenced a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant proper owner and/or operator.  At some point in the litigation, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment – which sought dismissal of the case – and argued, among other things, that it was not negligence in causing the accident and resulting injuries.

 

A Justice of the Queens County Supreme Court denied the defendants motion – and the defendant thereafter appealed.  On appeal, however, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed – which resulted in the plaintiff’s case being dismissed – and in its decision held the following: “The mere fact that the grate was wet from the falling rain was insufficient to establish the existence of a dangerous condition…In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact.  Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, the conclusion of her expert that the parking lot was defectively designed, without setting forth any violations of industry-wide standards or accepted practices in the field of parking lot design and construction, was insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact…Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.”

 

As the Shuttleworth appellate decision focuses mostly on the plaintiff’s claims of negligent design and construction of the premises and/or subject metal grating system, then it is unknown (from reviewing the decision alone) if the plaintiff did not also have other viable claims or arguments, including: that defendant had actual and/or constructive notice of the dangerously slippery condition (which would be that the defendant knew, or should have known, that water existed on the grate for a substantial period of time prior to the accident - and that it should have timely cleaned the area and made it safe); and/or that the defendant created the dangerous condition (such as, for example, due to faulty maintenance services).

Salvatore R. Marino, Esq.