New York

Basketball, Glass Doors, and Premises Liability (NY)

Acevedo v. The Madison Square Garden Co., No. 157997/16, 2021 WL 65434 (NY Sup. Ct. Jan. 7, 2021) is a personal injury case, wherein Plaintiff alleged damages after walking into a transparent glass panel upon ingress to Madison Square Garden. Specifically, Plaintiff claimed defendants were negligent by failing to mark the glass panel, which he collided with after passing through security at...Read More

NYC Seeks Coverage for Underlying Asbestos Claim, Creating Opportunity for Court to Analyze Scope of “Pollution” Exclusion (NY)

The City of New York filed suit in New York County Supreme Court against an insurer seeking coverage for two underlying lawsuits in which the plaintiffs alleged injuries resulting from exposure to asbestos. This case may thus present the opportunity for another New York court to weigh in on the application of a liability policy’s “pollution” exclusion to a claim for asbestos injury, an issue...Read More

Insurer’s Assault and Battery Exclusion upheld in Bronx County Supreme Court for a Slip and Fall Arising from Spilled Drinks during a Club Melee (NY)

Quanisha Simmons commenced a personal injury action against Blvd Bar & Lounge nightclub, located in Westchester County, New York, when she slipped and fell on a puddle of spilled drinks, which was on the floor due to “a melee which erupted within and without the club.” Simmons testified that she was pushed, shoved, and trapped in the bar at her deposition, and when she took a step toward...Read More

Slip & Fall Shows a Mountain of Triable Issues of Fact (NY)

In Jubie v. Emerson Management Enterprises, LLC, (3d Dept. 2020), a plaintiff slipped and fell on an icy parking lot in Ulster County, NY. Plaintiff commenced an action against the management company for the parking lot, and subsequently named Kenneth Umhey in her action, because he provided snow removal services for the parking lot under contract with the management company. Umhey moved for...Read More

WCM’s 2020 Year in Review

At this point, more than enough has been written about 2020.   COVID-19 changed the world, and how we all view it.  When we left our physical offices in mid-March – and told everyone we’d see them the Monday after Easter – the prospect of working remotely for a month seemed like an eternity.   Nearly ten months later, and well, here we are. Despite the pandemic, Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP has...Read More

Trivial Defects: A Bar to Plaintiff’s Recovery (NY)

In Speredowich v. Long Island Rail Road Company, the plaintiff commenced a personal injury action against defendant after the heel of her shoe got caught in a crack on a platform in Penn Station. The plaintiff fell and sustained injuries.  At trial, the plaintiff testified that the crack was “approximately ½ inch wide, 9 to 12 inches long, and ¼ inch deep.” Following plaintiff’s testimony, the...Read More

A Tree Falls in Orange County, Does it Make a Sound (of Liability) (NY)

In Pozzani v. Village of S. Blooming, the plaintiff was driving through the Village when a tree fell on her car. Plaintiff sustained injuries, and sued the Village. There was no evidence that the Village knew that the tree was in an unsafe condition before the accident. The Village moved for summary judgment, arguing that it had no actual or constructive notice that the tree was in a dangerous...Read More

Follow Form Excess Policy Does Not “Drop Down” Following Rescission of Primary Policy (NY)

In a split-decision, the New York Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of excess insurer Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (ICSOP), finding that the policy follow-form provision did not override the policy’s defined limits of coverage. The coverage dispute involved the insurance contracts covering general contractor Kam Cheung Construction for a personal injury suit brought by...Read More

Off Trail Hiker Falls Off Cliff And So Does His Claim (NY)

In Weirich v Finger Lakes Land Trust, Plaintiff brought suit against the Defendant after suffering injury after falling down a steep slope in a nature preserve. Defendant, a nonprofit organization, is responsible for the conservation of Carpenter Falls through a stewardship agreement with the State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Stewardship Agreement provides the scope of...Read More

Does the Nature of a Dog Bite always Demonstrate Knowledge of Vicious Propensities? (NY)

In Costanza v Scarlata, the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed whether the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability after defendant’s dog bit plaintiff on her face. The plaintiff alleged that defendants had a dog with vicious propensities, and as such, defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis that they didn’t have knowledge of any vicious...Read More