Nertha DeLaRosa sued after she slipped and fell over two uneven concrete slabs that made up a sidewalk controlled by Broadway Crescent Realty and M&N Management.
When the Queens County Supreme Court dismissed her case (based on the triviality of the sidewalk defect), DeLaRosa appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which reversed the lower court's determination.
Before a defect can be deemed inconsequential, a court must look at all of the pertinent elements, including the depth, width, elevation, and irregularity of the condition, along with the time, place, and circumstances of the injury.
Since there's no hard and fast rule as to the height or depth of an irregularity which is (or isn't) actionable, and because Broadway Crescent Realty and M&N didn't show the defect was trivial, the AD2 was of the view it was error to dismiss the case.
Nertha must have tripped over herself when she got that.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: DeLaRosa v. City of New York