Adames v. Galaxy Gen. Contr. Corp.

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed an order granting Galaxy General Contracting Corp. summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff's complaint. The court held that the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact connecting Galaxy's permitted roadwork to the roadway defect, and rejected arguments concerning premature discovery and the sufficiency of Galaxy's affidavit.

Holdings

1. Summary judgment was not premature because plaintiff failed to demonstrate that additional discovery might disclose facts supporting her opposition.
2. Galaxy met its prima facie burden and its vice-president's affidavit was sufficient to shift the summary-judgment burden to plaintiff.
3. Plaintiff's argument that the affidavit was not based on personal knowledge was unpreserved because she did not raise it below.
4. Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact because her theory that work performed in one area caused a defect in another area two years later was speculative.

Questions Presented

1. Whether summary judgment was premature because discovery had not commenced.
2. Whether Galaxy established its entitlement to summary judgment through an affidavit cross-referencing Department of Transportation work permits and evidence concerning the location and timing of its work.
3. Whether plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact connecting Galaxy's work to the roadway defect that caused her fall.
4. Whether plaintiff preserved her challenge to the vice-president's affidavit for appellate review.

Disposition

affirmed