Conneally v. Diocese of Rockville Ctr.

• Decision Date: 23 April 2014
• Parties: Catherine Ann CONNEALLY, etc., respondent, v. DIOCESE OF ROCKVILLE CENTRE, defendant, St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church, et al., appellants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

116 A.D.3d 905
984 N.Y.S.2d 127
2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 02741

Catherine Ann CONNEALLY, etc., respondent,
v.
DIOCESE OF ROCKVILLE CENTRE, defendant,
St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church, et al., appellants.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

April 23, 2014.

Mulholland, Minion, Duffy, Davey, McNiff & Beyrer, Williston Park, N.Y. (Christine M. Gibbons of counsel), for appellants.

Feldman, Kramer & Monaco, P.C. (Joshua Annenberg, New York, N.Y., of counsel), for respondent.

RUTH C. BALKIN, J.P., SANDRA L. SGROI, JEFFREY A. COHEN, and HECTOR D. LASALLE, JJ.

[984 N.Y.S.2d 128]

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church and St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church at Rockville Centre appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Marber, J.), dated August 15, 2012, which denied their motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

At about 9:00 p.m. on August 20, 2009, the then–75–year–old plaintiff allegedly tripped and fell due to an elevation differential between the outdoor plaza area of premises owned by the defendants St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church and St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church at Rockville Centre (hereinafter together the St. Agnes defendants) and the abutting sidewalk below it, sustaining personal injuries. The plaintiff, who had just attended a concert at the St. Agnes defendants' cathedral, alleged that she did not see the difference in height between the plaza area and the abutting sidewalk because the area was inadequately lit.

“To establish a prima facie case of negligence, a plaintiff must establish the existence of a duty owed by a defendant to the plaintiff, a breach of that duty, and that such breach was a proximate cause of injury to the plaintiff” ( Alvino v. Lin, 300 A.D.2d 421, 421, 751 N.Y.S.2d 585;see Rubin v. Staten Is. Univ. Hosp., 39 A.D.3d 618, 833 N.Y.S.2d 241;Nappi v. Incorporated Vil. of Lynbrook, 19 A.D.3d 565, 796 N.Y.S.2d 537). A property owner has a duty to maintain his property in a reasonably safe manner ( see Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233, 234, 386 N.Y.S.2d 564, 352 N.E.2d 868). However, a property owner has no duty to protect or warn against an open and obvious condition, which, as a matter of law, is not inherently dangerous ( see Nelson v. 40–01 N. Blvd. Corp., 95 A.D.3d 851, 943 N.Y.S.2d 216;Tyz v. First St. Holding Co., Inc., 78 A.D.3d 818, 910...