Kelley Kronenberg Practice Partner Celia J. Morel successfully defeated Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on liability. The incident arose out of a trip and fall case in Manhattan. The claim was filed in the Supreme Court of New York. 

Plaintiff alleged he tripped and fell on broken concrete on a sidewalk in front of our client’s premises. He claimed injuries due to the fall, presenting potential exposure exceeding $3 million. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on liability, relying on photographs of the incident location arguing constructive notice of an alleged defect. 

Celia strategically opposed the motion, highlighting: (1) Plaintiff’s omission to address actual notice; and (2) Plaintiff’s failure to establish constructive notice.  

Celia accurately discerned that the photographs offered were inadmissible because they were unsworn, altered, and lacked proper authentication. The Court agreed, finding the evidence insufficient to support summary judgment on liability and denied Plaintiff’s motion in its entirety.  

A grant of summary judgment in Plaintiff’s favor would resolve liability as a matter of law.  This would permit the case to proceed solely on the question of damages and substantially increase the client’s exposure heading into trial or settlement negotiations. 

The ruling preserved the client’s ability to contest liability at trial and avoided what could have been a significant and immediate increase in exposure on a seven-figure claim. 

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