WAS THIS A STEP IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?

After she fell while descending an exterior step, S.M. filed a personal-injury lawsuit against the property owner.

When that defendant later moved for summary judgment (pre-trial relief in its favor), on the grounds that the condition was “open and obvious and not inherently dangerous,” the Suffolk County Supreme Court granted that request.

And on appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that while an owner must maintain its property in a “reasonably safe condition,” it is under no duty to warn of conditions that aren’t “inherently dangerous” and which are “readily observable.”

Since the step wasn’t defective, and S.M. and had ascended (moments prior) without incident, and, given that it was a “sunny day,” and her view was “unobstructed,” the AD2 agreed that the litigation had been properly dismissed.

Talk about a misstep ….

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DECISION

S.M. v Fairfield Hills E., LLC