Archie v. Cunningham Assoc., L.P.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed an order denying the defendants' motion for summary judgment in a premises-liability action arising from the plaintiff's alleged slip and fall on ice. The court held that the storm-in-progress doctrine applied and that the defendants' salting and ice-melt efforts neither created nor exacerbated a hazardous condition.

Holdings

1. A property owner or manager moving for summary judgment in a premises-liability case may establish prima facie entitlement to judgment by showing that a storm was in progress when the plaintiff fell on an icy condition. The defendants made that showing through deposition testimony, meteorological evidence, and certified climatological data.
2. The defendants' application of salt or ice melt during the storm did not, on the evidence presented, create a hazardous condition or exacerbate the natural hazard created by the storm.
3. The plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendants' ice-removal or prevention efforts created a hazardous condition or exacerbated a natural hazard.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment under New York's storm-in-progress doctrine.
2. Whether the defendants' efforts to apply salt or ice melt created a hazardous condition or exacerbated a natural hazard created by the storm.
3. Whether the plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact in opposition to the defendants' motion.

Disposition

reversed