A health club in Monsey failed to show that injuries a tennis player sustained on its indoor courts were an inherent risk to playing the sport, an appeals court ruled on May 29. The unanimous four-judge panel of the Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed an earlier order by Rockland County Supreme Court Justice Linda Jamieson (See Profile) who had dismissed Samuel Herman’s complaint.
Herman claimed he slipped and fell in 2008 after stepping on two water bottles concealed behind a curtain while he "pedaled backwards" to hit an overhead shot. Herman alleged Lifeplex was negligent because it had failed to inspect for and remove empty bottles from its courts. Lifeplex argued that Herman had assumed a risk inherent to playing indoor tennis and that it was unaware of any dangerous condition. Jamieson sided with the club and Herman appealed.
