But Repairs Increased the Value of the Damaged Property Homeowners William Bartle and Robert Whitman sued Poly Enterprises in City Court of Little Fall, Herkimer County, for $4,152 for damage to an underground electrical line during the installation of a fence. The lawsuit went to trial before the Court. There was no substantial factual difference in the testimony. There was some disagreement about whether or not the homeowners approved the actual location of fence in proximity to the marked underground electrical lines. The essential disagreement was about whether or not the Poly was liable for electrical wires that were damaged… Read more

Was Out-of-Possession Landlord Liable for the Injury? Julia M. Frenza sought monetary damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained on September 18, 2018, when she tripped and fell due to a crack in an interior floor of premises owned by Four State Commercial Developers LLC (FSCD).  At the time of her accident, Frenza was working as a courier for Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) at the premises, which was leased and operated by FedEx as a warehouse. The accident occurred inside a facility in an area used to house vehicles. Frenza claimed that FSCD was negligent in failing to properly maintain and… Read more

Was Cart Maintenance Company Liable Because “Danger Invited Rescue?” According to her deposition testimony, on March 11, 2015, Joy Corpin, a nurse at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, was rolling a computer cart on wheels when a wheel came off the cart. Corpin held the cart to keep it from toppling down, because she did not want the monitor damaged. She then pushed the cart up against the wall and held it to secure it and prevent it from falling on people in the hallway. Corpin was asked to lift the cart so her coworkers could re-attach the wheel. She… Read more

Was Bride-to-Be Entitled to No, Partial or Full Refund of Deposit? Jennifer Tyrie Hinge sought $5,000 in damages against Michael Dezotell d/b/a Orchard Grove Farms for failure to deliver wedding services as contracted. The matter proceeded to trial in the City Court of Little Falls, Herkimer County on April 7, 2022. There was no substantial factual difference in the testimony. Both parties agreed that Hinge contracted with Dezotell on or about September 11, 2019, to provide a wedding venue and made two payments totaling $5,411.42. Then the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to public gatherings pursuant to public health orders… Read more

Tenant Awarded Deposit with Interest & Punitive Damages Arlene Marie Karole commenced a small claims action against 340 West End Ave, LLC seeking $2,655.86 in damages for West End Ave’s failure to return a security deposit for an apartment which Karole had leased. On February 1, 2022, Karole amended her claim to increase the amount of damages to $3,851.89. The Court conducted a nonjury trial. Karole appeared virtually via Microsoft Teams. West End Ave appeared in person by Steven Kirschner, the president of Kay Equities, the management company of the apartment building. Karole was the tenant of a rent-stabilized Apartment… Read more

Or Did Victim Assume the Risk of Accidental Shooting? On June 8, 2018, Todd Herrington, his son Devin, John Tompkins (Todd’s brother-in-law), and Robert Westcott were in Bearn, Quebec, Canada on a fishing and hunting trip. Each of them had a designated area for hunting that was a significant distance away from the others. Patricia Harrington, as Administrator of Todd’s estate, sued Tompkins (her brother), for negligently causing Todd’s death. Patricia moved for summary judgment. The Court found the following facts: In the afternoon of June 8, Tompkins went bear hunting, driving to his hunting location using an all-terrain vehicle… Read more

Was Defect in Steps Obvious or Actionable? Jason Collins tripped and fell around 6:15 p.m. as he was leaving the home of Donald and Marilyn Comilloni on Granite Springs Road in Granite Springs. His injuries included rupture of a tendon and ligaments of the right ankle as well as bone contusion and fracture. Collins, accompanied by his wife Melissa and a realtor, had gone to the house to look at it for possible purchase. As they left the home, they exited from the side of the house to traverse along the exterior walk-way owned and maintained by the Comilloni’s. It… Read more

Was ShopRite Liable for the Patron’s Injury? Alfred Kenlaw was injured while using and exiting a motorized cart in front of the entrance to the ShopRite Supermarket of Wallkill located at 20 Lloyds Lane, Middletown, New York. Kenlaw alleged that ShopRite was negligent in the “ownership, operation, maintenance and control of the its premises and motorized shopping cart” and that it failed to maintain its premises and motorized shopping cart in a reasonably safe condition. Kenlaw arrived at ShopRite to do some shopping and used a motorized cart as he had done many times before. He was operating the motorized… Read more

Were County/Park Commissioners Protected from Liability by Law? Madelyn Langford and Peter D. Kaufman sued for their injuries sustained after a tree branch fell on them while on a trail in Kennedy Dells Park located in New City, New York. The Park is owned by the County of Rockland and operated by the County of Rockland Park Commission. The County and the Commission moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint based on the arguments that movants: (1) were immune from liability of negligence pursuant to General Obligations Law § 9-103; (2) lacked actual or constructive notice as to the existence… Read more

Court Reviews Conflicting Affidavits and Analyzes Burden of Proof Rear end automobile collision claims would seemingly raise quintessential questions of fact for trial—especially where the two drivers submit clearly conflicting and controverting affidavits about the facts and circumstances of the crash. But, as a recent decision illustrates, that is not always the case. Stephanie Wilms was involved in a motor vehicle accident that occurred on March 2, 2018 at approximately 5:35 p.m. A vehicle owned by ADT Security Services, Inc. and Protection 1 Alarm Monitoring, Inc., and operated by Corteze C. Remy Jr., struck the rear of her car on Joshua’s Path… Read more