Case: Appellate Win
Counsel: Alice Spitz
Headline: Lockbox on Wall Outside the Entrance Door is Not Negligent
Result: Case Dismissed
Plaintiff sued a Wendy’s Restaurant when he hit his head on a lockbox affixed to the wall, while exiting a Wendy’s Restaurant in Long Island. Plaintiff claimed that the lockbox, which was installed near the exit-door at the Plaintiff’s eye level, amounted to a dangerous condition. The Supreme Court agreed with the Plaintiff that Wendy’s was not entitled to summary judgment, because the Plaintiff’s engineering expert opined that the lockbox should have been installed further from the door’s exit. The Appellate Division, Second Department agreed with Molod Spitz & DeSantis, P.C. and unanimously reversed. The Appellate Court held that Molod Spitz & DeSantis, P.C. made a prima facie showing that the location of the lockbox was both open and obvious to anyone using their senses, and further, that the location of the lockbox was not inherently dangerous. This case was dismissed.