Taylor v New York City Hous. Auth.
2014 NY Slip Op 02287 [116 AD3d 695]
April 2, 2014
Appellate Division, Second Department
As corrected through Wednesday, May 28, 2014


Ilene Taylor, as Administratrix of the Estate of GeraldineTaylor, Deceased, et al., Respondents,
v
New York City Housing Authority,Appellant.

[*1]Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, New York, N.Y. (MarieLowery and Patrick J. Lawless of counsel), for appellant.

Simonson Hess Leibowitz & Goodman, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Edward S. Goodmanof counsel), for respondents.

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for wrongful death, etc., the defendantappeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, KingsCounty (Schmidt, J.), dated March 8, 2012, as denied its motion for summary judgmentdismissing the complaint.

Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The defendant failed to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as amatter of law. Contrary to the defendant's contention, it failed to establish that it installedan operational smoke detector in the subject apartment in compliance with section27-2045 (a) (1) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York prior to the subjectfire on February 17, 2008 (cf.Vanderlinde v 600 W. 183rd St. Realty Corp., 101 AD3d 583 [2012]; Curry v 1716 Ave. T Realty,LLC, 89 AD3d 978, 979 [2011]; Carter v Grenadier Realty, 83 AD3d 640, 641 [2011];Fairclough v 679 Magenta, 309 AD2d 619, 620 [2003]; see also Peyton v State ofNewburgh, Inc., 14 AD3d 51, 53 [2004]; Fields v S & W Realty Assoc.,301 AD2d 625 [2003]; Acevedo v Audubon Mgt., 280 AD2d 91, 94 [2001]).

The defendant also failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as amatter of law on the basis that any alleged failure to install an operational smoke detectorwas not a proximate cause of the decedent's death and of the other plaintiffs' allegedinjuries (see generallyPappalardo v Long Is. R.R. Co., 36 AD3d 878, 880 [2007]; Croce v Budget Rent-A-CarCorp., 7 AD3d 748 [2004]).

Since the defendant failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as amatter of law, the burden never shifted to the plaintiffs to raise a triable issue of fact(see Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853 [1985]).

Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied the defendant's motion for summaryjudgment dismissing the complaint. Rivera, J.P., Lott, Roman and Cohen, JJ., concur.[Prior Case History: 35 Misc 3d 697.]


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