| Wajdzik v YMCA of Greater N.Y. |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 06177 [65 AD3d 586] |
| August 11, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Krystyna Wajdzik, Respondent, v YMCA of Greater NewYork, Appellant. |
—[*1] Michael A. Forzano, Brooklyn, N.Y., for respondent.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant appeals from an order ofthe Supreme Court, Kings County (F. Rivera, J.), entered September 18, 2008, which denied itsmotion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff allegedly sustained personal injuries when she fell down some stairs whileexiting the defendant's building. The plaintiff subsequently commenced this action. Thedefendant then unsuccessfully moved for summary judgment.
The defendant bore the burden of establishing its prima facie entitlement to judgment as amatter of law (see Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]). TheSupreme Court properly concluded that the defendant failed to meet that burden, as, inter alia, itdid not demonstrate that the stairs in question need not have been equipped with handrails.Moreover, if handrails were required, there is a triable issue of fact as to whether the lack ofhandrails was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's fall (see Asaro v Montalvo, 26 AD3d 306 [2006]).
Since the defendant did not meet its prima facie burden, it is unnecessary to consider theadequacy of the opposing papers (seeKeese v Imperial Gardens Assoc., LLC, 36 AD3d 666 [2007]). Accordingly, thedefendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint was properly denied.Prudenti, P.J., Miller, Leventhal and Lott, JJ., concur.