Case: Summary Judgment Obtained for Diligent Property Owner
Counsel: Robert A. Von Hagen
Case Result: Case Dismissed and Affirmed on Appeal
MSD won summary judgment on behalf of the owner and manager of an apartment housing complex. The plaintiff claimed she sustained serious head and neck injuries when the upper sash of a window fell on her in a common stairwell at the complex. During plaintiff’s deposition, Plaintiff admitted admissions that, in the thirty years she had lived at the building, she had never complained about nor noticed any malfunction or concern pertaining to the window. MSD also submitted the testimony of the long-time building superintendent, who testified regarding the management company’s diligent weekly maintenance routine. He testified that he had been in the area only two days before the Sunday morning incident and the window was working properly. Likewise, when he responded to the plaintiff’s incident, the window sash was re-installed and continued working properly.
The lower Court granted summary judgment holding that MSD’s clients lacked actual and constructive notice of the latent window condition that caused it to fall. When the plaintiff appealed, Mr. Von Hagen defended the lower Court’s decision, and the First Department affirmed. The decision is here.
Read the decision here