In Gambino v. City of New York , Carl Gambino, a NYC Department of Sanitation worker, sued the City of New York for personal injuries suffered after he slipped and fell on a oily puddle in a city-owned garage. (A co-worker had notified the garage clerk of an unsafe oil-condition in that area some two days earlier.)
After the Kings County Supreme Court concluded the City failed to keep the area reasonably safe, and was responsible for the accident, a jury awarded Gambino $5.1M.
On appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department, the City argued that oil spills were "inherent" and "incidental" to the use of a truck housing garage.
Since a property owner is liable for injuries which occur when it creates an unsafe condition, has actual or constructive notice of the defect, and, fails to fix it, the AD2 affirmed the outcome (which had been reduced by prior agreement to $2,693,002.75).
The City couldn't squeak out of that one!
For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Gambino v. City of New York