CONTRACTOR SATISFACTORILY PERFORMED WORK
After a homeowner slipped on some ice and was injured on his property he sued the Defendant, MSR, in Westchester County Supreme Court, alleging that the latter had negligently installed “gutters and downspouts,” which caused water to accumulate and freeze on the property’s walkway.
After his personal injury case was dismissed, the plaintiff appealed. And on its review, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that while a contractor has a “duty of reasonable care,” it must be shown that the individual somehow failed to perform the work with “reasonable skill and care.”
In this instance, however, MSR demonstrated that he satisfactorily performed the services in question and that plaintiff expressed satisfaction with the work. And that once the project was completed, “the defendant had no continuing duty to maintain the plaintiff's property.”
While the plaintiff proffered an expert affidavit that purported that the downspouts had been negligently installed, the AD2 found that submission to be “speculative” in nature and that it failed to raise “an issue of fact.” And, as a result, the case’s dismissal was affirmed.
It’s time to get our minds out of the gutter.
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DECISION