Summary Judgment

Readily Observable (NY)

In a recent decision, Williams v. E And R Jamaica Food Corp., the Second Department held that ” a condition is open and obvious if it is ‘readily observable by those employing the reasonable use of their senses, given the conditions at the time of the accident.” The Appellate Court granted defendant’s appeal in matter where plaintiff sustained personal injuries as a result of...Read More

Summary Judgment Without Deposition discovery Permitted In NY Labor Law Case

Courts often deny early summary judgment motions on the basis that they are premature pending completion of discovery on the issues in dispute. In Lapota v. PPC Commercial, LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department took a different approach in examining a trial court’s decision to deny plaintiff’s early motion for summary judgment as to his Labor Law §240 (1) claim against the defendant....Read More

Court Finds Defendants Did Not Exacerbate Hazard Though Engaged In Snow Removal During Storm

In Keeney v. Hempstead Turnpike, LLC, et al., the plaintiff appealed from an order granting summary judgment to defendant/second third-party plaintiff, Stop and Shop Supermarket Company, LLC (“Stop & Shop”), to defendant/third-party plaintiff, Hempstead Turnpike, LLC (“Hempstead Turnpike”), the second third-party defendant, S & S Levittown, LLC (“S & S”), and, on a separate motion,...Read More

WC Bar Extends To Corporate Relatives (PA)

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently held that the workers’ compensation bar extends to provide immunity to an entity who managed and owned the business that employed the injured plaintiff at the time of his injury. However, the fact pattern is rather unique, so the result does not necessarily change the current legal landscape. The plaintiff in the case was injured by heavy machinery...Read More

No Summary Judgment in PA Fire Loss Case Where Insured Lived In Apartment But Had Regular Contact With Insured Residence

In Isenberg v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., the plaintiff insured filed a claim under her homeowner’s insurance policy after a house that she had purchased was destroyed by a fire. Plaintiff had been performing renovations at the house and, at the time of the fire, was living in an apartment with her children. Believing that plaintiff was not using the home as a residence under those...Read More

Defendant Slips On Storm In Progress Rule (NY)

In a recent case from the Second Department of the Appellant Division of New York, Fitzsimons v. N. Shore Univ. Hosp., the court affirmed an order granting summary judgment to a defendant parking garage owner on the basis of the storm in progress rule. The plaintiff in the case was walking to his car on the fourth floor of the defendant’s parking garage. After slipping and falling on ice, the...Read More

Video Surveillance Leaves Questions For The Jury (NY)

Even though video surveillance showed the plaintiff switching lanes in front of defendant’s bus at the same time as defendant, the Appellate Division still found there to be several issues of fact in a recent New York case. In Fergile v. Payne, plaintiff was riding a motor scooter in the right lane of traffic. Defendant bus driver was also traveling in the right lane, behind plaintiff. As the...Read More

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