SLIPPERY WHEN WET

In Crawford v. Jefferson House Assoc., LLC, Richard Crawford sued Jefferson House after he fell down a building stairway.

Crawford claimed the accident was caused by spilled coffee and the manner in which the stairway had been painted. An expert even opined that "accepted engineering safety practices" had been violated.

When the Supreme Court granted the House's request to dismiss the case, Crawford appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which affirmed the outcome. The AD2 concluded Jefferson neither created nor had notice of the dangerous condition.

Crawford's arguments -- the stairway violated "good and accepted engineering practices" and was "inherently slippery" -- weren't enough to prevent the case from taking a tumble of its own.

Only the Court of Appeals could sweeten that.

To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Crawford v. Jefferson House Assoc., LLC