Summary Judgment

Claim Of Injury On A City Bus Fails To Take Off From The Ground (NY)

In this week’s review, we study a quirky case where a plaintiff sued the MTA Bus Company because she sustained serious injury when she fell from a sudden and violent stop on a New York City bus. (Who among us has not been in this common situation at one point while living in New York City.) In Orji v. MTA Bus Co., NY Slip Op 02811 (2d Dept. 2022), the plaintiff alleged the city bus stopped at...Read More

Vicarious Liability Found In A Motorcycle Accident By Off-Duty Cop (NY)

In Llorente v. Wnorowski, 2022 NY Slip Op 02258 (2d Dept. 2022), the plaintiff was riding a motorcycle on the Grand Central Parkway when it collided with another motorcycle operated by the defendant Wnorowski, an off-duty police officer at the time, who was riding with other off-duty police officers on motorcycles. The plaintiff commenced a personal injury action against him and against his...Read More

Pennsylvania Federal Court Holds the Line on Kvaerner

The District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently opined on a liability insurer’s duty to defend and/or indemnify its named insured and additional insured in a lawsuit arising out of alleged construction defects in a new housing development. This decision reinforces that Kvaerner – while nibbled at the edges – still arguably remains good law in Pennsylvania. The case,...Read More

New Theory Of Liability At Summary Judgment Phase Disallowed (NJ)

The matter of Stewart v. New Jersey Turnpike Authority was recently decided by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.  In that matter, the plaintiff motorcyclists were injured after a motorcycle accident involving no other vehicles.  The collective plaintiffs alleged throughout litigation that they lost control of the motorcycle when they struck a piece of metal in a bridge’s expansion joint that...Read More

Ambiguous Additional Insurance Provision Results In Denial Of Summary Judgment All Around (NY)

In Corter-Longwell v. Juliano, the New York Appellate Division evaluated a common commercial contract provision, in which a transportation company was responsible for naming its contract partner, a landfill operator, as an additional insured. The dispute arose as the contract was imprecise regarding this responsibility, and the parties disputed whether a subsidiary of the landfill operator was...Read More

Tossing Up Bricks: Former NY Knicks Star Loses Assault Claims (NY)

On remand, in Charles Oakley v. MSG Networks, et al., the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York granted defendants NY Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden Co.’s motion to dismiss Charles Oakley’s claims of assault and battery. On February 8, 2017, Oakley was escorted out of his seat by MSG security guards and arrested while attending a Knicks game due...Read More

Proof of Planted Tree Alone Does Not Create a Dangerous Condition (NJ)

It is long established precedent in New Jersey that residential landowners do not owe a duty to maintain their sidewalks for the safety of pedestrians, but commercial landowners and commercial tenants usually are bestowed a duty to maintain sidewalks for the benefit of the public.  Still, a residential landowner can be liable for a sidewalk defect if the residential owner creates or...Read More

A “Feigned Issue Of Fact” Not Sufficient To Defeat Summary Judgment (NY)

In Fonck v. City of New York, 2021 NY Slip Op 05693 (2021), while plaintiff was trying to retrieve his pliers, laying approximately five feet away from him, he allegedly tripped and fell on a concealed piece of pipe underneath plastic sheeting, causing him to fall and sustain injuries. The Supreme Court, Kings County had granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s...Read More