| Fabish v Garden Bay Manor Condominium |
| 2007 NY Slip Op 07816 [44 AD3d 820] |
| October 16, 2007 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Cidia Fabish, Appellant, v Garden Bay ManorCondominium et al., Respondents. |
—[*1] Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, New York, N.Y. (Thomas D. Hughes andRichard C. Rubinstein of counsel), for respondent Garden Bay Manor Condominium. White, Quinlan & Staley, LLP, Garden City, N.Y. (Thomas B. Ferris of counsel), forrespondent BRG Garden Bay, LLC.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals, as limited by herbrief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Satterfield, J.), datedJune 21, 2006, as granted those branches of the separate motions of the defendants Garden BayManor Condominium and BRG Garden Bay, LLC, which were for summary judgmentdismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them.
Ordered that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with one bill of costs,and those branches of the separate motions of the defendants Garden Bay Manor Condominiumand BRG Garden Bay, LLC, which were for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofaras asserted against them are denied.
The plaintiff allegedly fell while traversing a stairway leading to her second floor apartment.About a month before the accident, the refrigerator in the plaintiff's apartment broke. Theplaintiff's landlord, the defendant BRG Garden Bay, LLC (hereinafter BRG), placed a temporaryrefrigerator in the landing area of a staircase, next to two steps at the top of the staircase. The[*2]plaintiff allegedly complained to BRG on more than oneoccasion that the refrigerator obstructed the path to her apartment. On the day of the accident, shewalked sideways with her back against the refrigerator and attempted to walk past the refrigeratorand ascend the two steps. As she traversed this area, her back brushed up against the refrigeratordoor, causing it to open. The door struck her and caused her to lose her balance and fall. Thedefendant Garden Bay Manor Condominium (hereinafter GBMC), which was responsible formaintaining the stairway, concedes on appeal that it was aware that the refrigerator was in thisarea.
In support of their separate motions, the defendants failed to make a prima facie showing ofentitlement to judgment as a matter of law (see Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr.,64 NY2d 851 [1985]; Belogolovkin v1100-1114 Kings Highway LLC, 35 AD3d 514, 515 [2006]; Palmer v Vitrano, 29 AD3d 656,657 [2006]). Since the defendants failed to meet their initial burden as the movants, we need notaddress the sufficiency of the plaintiff's opposition papers (see Winegrad v New York Univ.Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d at 851).
The remaining contention of GBMC is without merit. Rivera, J.P., Covello, Angiolillo andDickerson, JJ., concur.