by PMT | Jul 6, 2020 | News, PMT Wins
By Thomas M. Bona and James C. Miller. Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York – Orange County Judge: Maria S. Vasquez-Doles Case Type: Slip and Fall / Premises Liability Caption: Estelle Brown, Individually, and Estelle Brown as Executrix of the Estate of et al v. Patriot Ridge Condo et al. Index No.: EF002053-2017 Decision Date: May 11, 2020 Decision: Summary Judgment As everyone is reminded during jury selection, there is a difference between making a claim and proving a claim. At PMT, we pride ourselves in every case we defend on putting the plaintiff to their proof and challenging them to prove their case. A recent case in which we won summary judgment for our client illustrates this. In Brown v. Patriot Ridge Condominium, plaintiff fell on black ice near the end of her driveway on December 29, 2016. Plaintiff, a 73-year-old woman, suffered serious physical injuries. The testimony that we developed from the plaintiff, our client and non-party witnesses showed that it had rained earlier in the day and then freezing temperatures descended on the area shortly before the plaintiff fell. We established that in the area where plaintiff fell and throughout the condominium complex, there had been no ice an hour and a half before plaintiff’s fall, but that ice had developed throughout the condominium development during the course of that next hour and a half. We argued that there was no actual or constructive notice of the condition that would have provided sufficient time for our client to remedy the condition. In addition, we argued that there was a storm in progress so...
