Section of sidewalk on Westchester Avenue between St. Ann’s Avenue and Brook Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps
Pedestrian injured on a defect in the sidewalk owned by the City. Pedestrian Luis Sanchez was injured when he tripped and fell on a defect in the sidewalk located on Westchester Avenue between St. Ann’s Avenue and Brook Avenue in the Bronx. Sanchez sued the City. The City, citing the generality of the mark on a Big Apple Map, moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of prior notice.
Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Wilma Guzman denied the City’s motion to dismiss Sanchez’s complaint and the City appealed.
The Appellate Division, First Department agreed with the lower court and refused to dismiss Sanchez’s complaint, and set the case back for a trial.
The Appellate Division ruled that there was a triable issue on whether the City had prior written notice of the defect. Sanchez’s expert relied on the Big Apple Map, which showed a defect in the general area. The court ruled that there was a triable issue as to the precise location of the defect and whether it was designated on the Map. The Map neither showed the length or distance of a defect and thus, an area of “raised or uneven portion of sidewalk” shown in the vicinity of the fall could extend to where Sanchez was injured.
Sanchez v. City of New York, 107 N.Y.S.3d 855 (1st Dep’t 2019).
By: Edward Colligan (Edward is a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2020.)