In DeJesus v. New York City Housing Authority , after leaving a bag of trash along the exterior of a locked "dump site" serving the Marble Hill Houses up in the Bronx, Ines DeJesus slipped and fell on a small piece of carpet that had been placed on the walkway.
In a personal injury case brought against the New York City Housing Authoirty (NYCHA) , DeJesus alleged she hadn't detected the carpet prior to slipping on it and, when the accident occurred, claimed to have seen around 10 bags of trash outside of the "dump site" and always observed garbage in that area on her twice weekly trash runs.
When the Bronx County Supreme Court denied NYCHA 's motion to dismiss the case, NYCHA appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department, which wasn't very receptive to DeJesus' case.
The appellate court didn't believe NYCHA had notice of a dangerous condition or of the carpet's existence and dismissed the case. (Since a caretaker cleaned the area and rid it of trash twice daily, the AD1 was of the opinion the carpet could have been placed in the area seconds prior to her fall.)
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Acosta thought dismissal was inappropriate given the ongoing nature of the problems associated with the dump. Acosta noted the AD1 "has permitted claims of negligence based on recurrent conditions" and DeJesus's testimony, as well as that of the caretaker's, reinforced the perils extant were far from fleeting in nature.
Is this another one for the can?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: DeJesus v. New York City Housing Authority