News & Blog

In a recent decision by Judge Laura G. Douglas of the Supreme Court, Bronx County, our motion for summary judgment was granted in its entirety dismissing the Complaint and all causes of action against our client, the Morning Star Full Gospel Assembly.

In this matter, plaintiff sought monetary damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained on September 30, 2017 when she slipped and fell on an alleged defect on the two (2) front exterior steps of the church.

The Court found that we met our initial burden to show absence of any factual issues and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The Court reasoned that the testimony of various wedding guests and attendees, especially that office manager Sue Washington and Robert Singleton (the sexton who cleaned and inspected the steps each day), that no prior complaints had been received about the steps, that no violations had been issued and that they had not noticed any cracks or other hazardous conditions on the steps on the accident date or hundreds, if not thousands of prior entries and exits spanning multiple steps, demonstrated that the subject steps could not have been a proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

Moreover, the Court found that since plaintiff had not made any complaints about the condition of the steps nor had she observed the allegedly hazardous condition on any of her numerous visits to the church, there is no admissible evidence that raises any material question that our insured created or had notice of any defect on the steps.

For more information, please contact Maria E. Stamatelatos, Esq. at mstamatelatos@frenchcasey.com