Laubis v County of Nassau
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Municipal and premises liability arising from a sidewalk trip-and-fall, including prior written notice requirements and the liability of abutting landowners.
The Supreme Court, Nassau County, granted summary judgment to the Town of Hempstead and the Kearns defendants, but denied summary judgment to the County of Nassau.
The Appellate Division reversed the portion of the order denying the County of Nassau's motion and granted summary judgment dismissing the complaint against the County.
The County established that it had no prior written notice under the applicable local prior written notice law [requires written notice to the municipality as a condition precedent to suit for sidewalk defects], and the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to the only recognized exceptions, namely affirmative creation of the defect or special use. The Town and the Kearns defendants also showed they were not liable because the Town did not own, maintain, repair, or specially use the sidewalk, and the Kearns defendants neither created the defect nor had a statutory duty making them liable.
Background
The plaintiff alleged that on April 2, 2020, she was injured when she tripped and fell on a raised sidewalk flag on a sidewalk in East Meadow. She sued the County of Nassau, the Town of Hempstead, and the owners of the abutting property, Leo F. Kearns, Inc. and Leo F. Kearns Funeral Directors, Inc., seeking damages for personal injuries.
Lower Court Decision
The trial court granted the Town of Hempstead's motion for summary judgment and the Kearns defendants' motion for summary judgment, dismissing the complaint against them. It denied the County of Nassau's motion for summary judgment, allowing the claim against the County to proceed.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the claims against the Town and the Kearns defendants, but reversed the denial of the County's motion. It held that the County made a prima facie showing that it lacked prior written notice through an affidavit from the office maintaining defect notices, which found no notice for the six years before and including the accident date. The plaintiff's argument that the County may have previously repaired the sidewalk was deemed speculative and insufficient to show that the County affirmatively created the defect.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces that a municipality's prior written notice law is a strong threshold defense in sidewalk defect cases. Once the municipality proves lack of prior written notice, the plaintiff must produce evidence, not speculation, showing either that the municipality affirmatively created the defect or derived a special use from the property. The case also reiterates that abutting landowners are generally not liable for public sidewalk defects unless they created the condition, made special use of the sidewalk, or are expressly made liable by statute or ordinance.
In New York sidewalk cases, a plaintiff cannot survive summary judgment against a municipality without proof of prior written notice or evidence fitting a recognized exception, and abutting property owners are not liable absent creation of the defect, special use, or an express statutory duty imposing liability.