Case: Eastern District of New York Awards Summary to Store Owner in Slip and Fall Case where Plaintiff Failed to Set Forth Proof of Notice
Counsel: Alice Spitz and Mary B. Dolan Roche
Result: Case Dismissed
The plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell on an unidentifiable green liquid at a large retail store. At her deposition, she admitted that she did not see the condition prior to her fall, could not identify how long the condition was on the floor prior to the accident or where it came from. We moved for summary judgment on the basis that plaintiff could not meet her burden to prove that the store created the condition or had notice of the condition. Since the case was venued in the Eastern District, case law provided that plaintiff has burden of proof in opposing our motion for Summary Judgment. In opposition, the plaintiff misconstrued the case law and argued that it was the store’s burden to prove lack of notice. Judge John Cronan awarded Summary Judgment to our client and held that plaintiff failed to set forth any evidence that the condition existed for a sufficient period of time to constitute notice.
Read the decision here