CABINET ALLEGEDLY DETACHED FROM WALL AND CAUSED LADY TO FALL
VMS sued her landlord, the Highbridge House Ogden, LLC., after she suffered injuries exiting her bathroom shower. Apparently, VMS claimed that her knee suddenly buckled, and when she went to grab the vanity, the latter detached from the wall, causing her to fall. Unreceptive to that claim, the Westchester County Supreme Court dismissed the case in response to the landlord’s motion for summary judgment -- i.e., pre-trial relief in its favor -- and VMS appealed.
On its review, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that the landlord had the “burden of proof” to show it wasn’t at fault for the accident. Because the vanity had been installed just a “couple of weeks” prior to the incident, and arguably shouldn’t have detached from the wall when VMS grabbed it with one hand, the AD2 thought there were “triable issues of fact” as to whether the reported shifting was the “proximate cause” of the lady’s injuries, and reinstated the case.
Just goes to show you: vanity ... produces all sorts of mischief ….
# # #
DECISION