Luckner Bazne and others were riding up a New York Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) escalator when it "jerked" and abruptly stopped, causing the group to fall backward.
When the injured individuals later sued PABT alleging negligence and res ipsa loquitur , the New York County Supreme Court granted the Authority's dismissal request.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, was of the view PABT wasn't responsible for what occurred, since its preventive maintenance records didn't reflect any problems nor was the entity aware of any complaints about the escalator.
Because they also failed to show the escalator was under PABT 's exclusive control and couldn't exclude other possible explanations for the sudden stop, the AD1 found the the res ipsa loquitur doctrine didn't apply.
Those poor plaintiffs really went down.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Bazne v. Port Authority of NY & NJ