Bernard v. Waldbaum, Inc.
| Decision Date | 28 October 1996 |
| Parties | Gloria BERNARD, Appellant, v. WALDBAUM, INC., Respondent. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Oxman Geiger Natale & Tulis, P.C., Hawthorne (Brian J. Stone, of counsel), for appellant.
Boeggeman, George, Hodges & Corde, P.C., White Plains (Thomas A. Sica and Robert Ondronic, of counsel), for respondent.
Before PIZZUTO, J.P., and SANTUCCI, FRIEDMANN and LUCIANO, JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries based upon negligence and premises liability, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Shapiro, J.), dated November 2, 1995, which granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff seeks damages for injuries allegedly caused when she slipped and fell on some blueberries on the floor of a store owned by the defendant. The Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The plaintiff failed to show either that the defendant created, or had actual or constructive notice of the condition which allegedly caused her to fall (see, Kraemer v. K-Mart Corporation, 226 A.D.2d 590, 641 N.Y.S.2d 130; Hollinger v. Chestnut Ridge Racquet Corp., 227 A.D.2d 380, 642 N.Y.S.2d 76; Bykofsky v. Waldbaum's Supermarkets, 210 A.D.2d 280, 281, 619 N.Y.S.2d 760). To constitute constructive notice, "a defect must be visible and apparent and it must exist for a sufficient length of time prior to the accident to permit defendant's employees to discover and remedy it" (see, Gordon v. American Museum of Natural History, 67 N.Y.2d 836, 837, 501 N.Y.S.2d 646, 492 N.E.2d 774; Masotti v. Waldbaums Supermarket, 227 A.D.2d 532, 642 N.Y.S.2d 950). Further, a "general awareness" that a dangerous condition may have been present is legally insufficient to constitute notice of the particular condition that caused the plaintiff's fall (see, Piacquadio v. Recine Realty Corp., 84 N.Y.2d 967, 969, 622 N.Y.S.2d 493, 646 N.E.2d 795; Kraemer v. K-Mart Corporation, supra; Mercer v. City of New York, 223 A.D.2d 688, 637 N.Y.S.2d 456; Snyder v. Golub Corporation, 199 A.D.2d 776, 777, 605 N.Y.S.2d 166; Paolucci v. First Natl. Supermarket Co., 178 A.D.2d 636, 637, 578 N.Y.S.2d 212).
In the present case, there is no evidence that anyone, including the plaintiff, saw any blueberries on the floor of the produce aisle before the accident. Although the plaintiff testified at her pretrial deposition that she saw scattered and crushed blueberries on the floor immediately after the...
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