Garcia v. Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church

Garcia v Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church (2024 NY Slip Op 03134) Garcia v Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church 2024 NY Slip Op 03134 Decided on June 11, 2024 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports. Decided and Entered: June 11, 2024 Before: Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Singh, Mendez, Rodriguez, Pitt-Burke, JJ. Index No. 26676/18 Appeal No. 2464 Case No. 2024-01405 [*1]Brunilda Garcia, Appellant, v Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church et al., Respondents. Budin, Reisman, Kupferberg & Bernstein, LLP, New York (Gregory C. McMahon of counsel), for appellant. Fleischner Potash, LLP, Mineola (Evan A. Richman of counsel), for respondents. Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Laura G. Douglas, J.), entered September 11, 2023, which granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs. Defendants established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence showing that the sidewalk defect that caused plaintiff to trip and fall had a slight height differential of one-quarter of an inch, which constituted a trivial defect as a matter of law. The minor height differentiation is insufficient to establish the existence of a dangerous or defective condition for which defendants could be liable (see Martin v Lafayette Morrison Hous. Corp., 31 AD3d 300, 301 [1st Dept 2006]). In opposition, plaintiff failed to submit evidence to raise an issue of fact as to whether the defect was not trivial in nature. We have considered and rejected plaintiff's remaining arguments. THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT. ENTERED: June 11, 2024