X

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Decided and Entered: December 1, 2005 98233 ________________________________ GEORGIANNA COCHETTI, Appellant, v WAL-MART STORES, INC., Respondent. ________________________________ Calendar Date: October 21, 2005 Before: Cardona, P.J., Mercure, Mugglin, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ. __________ Abdella Law Offices, Gloversville (Michael E. Sutton of counsel), for appellant. O’Connor, O’Connor, Bresee & First, P.C., Albany (Michael P. Cavanagh of counsel), for respondent. __________ Rose, J. Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Reilly Jr., J.), entered July 28, 2004 in Schenectady County, which granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Plaintiff commenced this negligence action alleging that she was injured when she slipped and fell on a clear substance on the floor of an aisle in defendant’s store. After issue was joined and depositions were conducted, defendant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Supreme Court granted the motion and plaintiff now appeals, arguing that her allegation of a recurring condition was sufficient to raise a question of fact as to whether defendant had constructive notice of the dangerous condition. Defendant met its initial burden of establishing that it had no constructive notice by relying upon plaintiff’s own deposition testimony that the slippery substance was not visible or apparent and she did not see any footprints or tracks in it to indicate that it had been present for a sufficient period of time to permit discovery and correction (see Lewis v Bama Hotel Corp., 297 AD2d 422, 423 [2002]; Wimbush v City of Albany, 285 AD2d 706, 706-707 [2001]). Defendant also offered evidence of its custom of conducting hourly safety sweeps of the store’s aisles and that the unidentified substance here had not been observed during the day’s first safety sweep, which would have been conducted one-half hour prior to plaintiff’s fall (see Hilsman v Sarwil Assoc., 13 AD3d 692, 694-695 [2004]). In an attempt to establish constructive notice through evidence that defendant was aware of a recurring dangerous condition, plaintiff submitted the affidavit of defendant’s former assistant store manager. He stated that he recalled occasional puddles of water on the floor of defendant’s store when he arrived for work in the morning, and he surmised that they were caused by the equipment used to clean the store’s floors during the overnight hours. Inasmuch as he does not identify where these occasional puddles occurred, or state that he observed them at either the place or time of day of plaintiff’s fall, his statements fail to show anything more than a general awareness that a potentially dangerous condition might exist in defendant’s store (see Piacquadio v Recine Realty Corp., 84 NY2d 967, 969 [1994]; Yearwood v Cushman & Wakefield, 294 AD2d 568, 569 [2002]; Richardson-Dorn v Golub Corp., 252 AD2d 790, 791 [1998]). In any event, at her deposition, plaintiff was unable to identify the substance she slipped on as water, testifying only that “I don’t know if it was water or wax, I don’t know what it was.” Accordingly, Supreme Court correctly concluded that plaintiff failed to raise a material question of fact as to constructive notice. Cardona, P.J., Mercure, Mugglin and Lahtinen, JJ., concur. ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

 
Reprints & Licensing
Mentioned in a Law.com story?

License our industry-leading legal content to extend your thought leadership and build your brand.

More From ALM

With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas.
View Now
Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team.
View Now
Gain access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys with our 2 bundle options! Our Compliance bundles are curated by CLE Counselors and include current legal topics and challenges within the industry. Our second option allows you to build your bundle and strategically select the content that pertains to your needs. Both options are priced the same.
View Now
September 05, 2024
New York, NY

The New York Law Journal honors attorneys and judges who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession in New York.


Learn More
April 25, 2024
Dubai

Law firms & in-house legal departments with a presence in the middle east celebrate outstanding achievement within the profession.


Learn More
April 29, 2024 - May 01, 2024
Aurora, CO

The premier educational and networking event for employee benefits brokers and agents.


Learn More

Atlanta s John Marshall Law School is seeking to hire one or more full-time, visiting Legal WritingInstructors to teach Legal Research, Anal...


Apply Now ›

Shipman is seeking an associate to join our Labor & Employment practice in our Hartford, New Haven, or Stamford office. Candidates shou...


Apply Now ›

Evergreen Trading is a media investment firm headquartered in NYC. We help brands achieve their goals by leveraging their unwanted assets to...


Apply Now ›
04/15/2024
Connecticut Law Tribune

MELICK & PORTER, LLP PROMOTES CONNECTICUT PARTNERS HOLLY ROGERS, STEVEN BANKS, and ALEXANDER AHRENS


View Announcement ›
04/11/2024
New Jersey Law Journal

Professional Announcement


View Announcement ›
04/08/2024
Daily Report

Daily Report 1/2 Page Professional Announcement 60 Days


View Announcement ›