Grant v. Golub Corp.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Third Department reversed an order granting defendants summary judgment in a negligence action arising from a trip-and-fall at a grocery store. The court held that defendants did not establish as a matter of law that the protruding cases of water were open, obvious, and not inherently dangerous, and that plaintiff raised triable issues regarding causation and the hazardous nature of the display.

Holdings

1. Defendants failed to establish as a matter of law that the endcap display, with the lowest cases of water projecting into the aisle, was open, obvious, and not inherently dangerous.
2. Plaintiff's inability to identify the exact object or its precise location did not require dismissal because negligence and causation could reasonably be inferred from circumstantial evidence.
3. Plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the endcap display was inherently dangerous.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendants established as a matter of law that the endcap display and protruding cases of water were open and obvious and not inherently dangerous.
2. Whether plaintiff's inability to identify the precise object or location that caused Grant's fall required dismissal because the causation theory was speculative.
3. Whether plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact regarding whether the endcap display was inherently dangerous.

Disposition

reversed