Peters v. City of White Plains

• Decision Date: 27 January 2009
• Docket Number: 2007-10687.
• Citation: Peters v. City of White Plains, 58 A.D.3d 824, 872 N.Y.S.2d 502, 2009 NY Slip Op 521 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009)
• Parties: ERIC PETERS, et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF WHITE PLAINS et al., Respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

58 A.D.3d 824

872 N.Y.S.2d 502

2009 NY Slip Op 00521

ERIC PETERS, et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF WHITE PLAINS et al., Respondents.

2007-10687.

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

January 27, 2009.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Donovan, J.), entered October 15, 2007, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Ordered that order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The plaintiff Eric Peters alleged that he slipped and fell on a ramp in a public parking garage leased and maintained by the City of White Plains. He alleged that the surface of the ramp was wet, uneven, and pitted. The defendants City of White Plains and White Plains Parking Authority (hereinafter the defendants) moved for summary judgment alleging that there was no prior written notice of the defect as required by Municipal Code of the City of White Plains § 277.

Contrary to the plaintiffs' contention, the Municipal Code requirement that there be prior written notice of a defect in a parking garage in order to maintain an action against the City complies with General Municipal Law § 50-e (4) (see Walker v Town of Hempstead, 84 NY2d 360 [1994]). A public parking garage, like a parking lot, falls within the definition of a highway and is one of the areas in which the General Municipal Law permits a local government to require notice of defective conditions (see Walker v Town of Hempstead, 84 NY2d at 366, 367; Mendes v Whitney-Floral Realty Corp....