Sciammarella v. Manorville Postal Assoc.

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Writing for the Court: WILLIAM F. MASTRO
• Decision Date: 02 August 2011
• Docket Number: Index No. 37409/07,2010-03248
• Citation: Sciammarella v. Manorville Postal Assoc., 2010-03248, Index No. 37409/07 (N.Y. App. Div. Aug 02, 2011)
• Parties: Toni Sciammarella, et al., appellants, v. Manorville Postal Associates, respondent.

2011 NY Slip Op 06122

Toni Sciammarella, et al., appellants,

v. Manorville Postal Associates, respondent.

2010-03248

Index No. 37409/07

SUPREME COURT OF THE STAT E OF NEW YORKAPPELLATE DIVISION : SECOND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Decided on August 2, 2011

WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P.

DANIEL D. ANGIOLILLO

CHERYL E. CHAMBERS

JEFFREY A. COHEN, JJ.

Richard A. Engelberg, P.C., Plainview, N.Y., for appellants.

Andrea G. Sawyers, Melville, N.Y. (Dominic P. Zafonte of counsel), for respondent.

DECISION & ORDER

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Baisley, Jr., J.), dated March 3, 2010, which granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The plaintiff Toni Sciammarella, then an employee of the United States Postal Service (hereinafter the Postal Service), allegedly sustained injuries when she fell after stepping into a hole in the parking lot of the premises leased to the Postal Service by the defendant.

"An out-of-possession landlord may not be held liable for injuries occurring on its premises unless it is contractually obligated to perform maintenance and repairs or it has retained control over the premises" (Salaices v Gar-Ben Assoc., 82 AD3d 740, 741; see Guzman v Haven Plaza Hous. Dev. Fund Co., 69 NY2d 559, 566-567). The defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by establishing that it was an out-of-possession landlord that did not retain control over the premises and was not contractually obligated to maintain or repair the parking lot (see Sanchez v Barnes & Nobel, Inc., 59 AD3d 698, 699; Yadegar v International Food Mkt., 37 AD3d 595, 596-597; Brockington v Brookfield Dev. Corp., 20 AD3d 382, 382-383).

In opposition, the plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact (see Lauer v Great S. Bay Seafood Co., 299 AD2d 325, 327; Amarante v Village of Tarrytown, 226 AD2d 488; see also Pala v D. Braf, Ltd., 284 AD2d 382).

MASTRO, J.P., ANGIOLILLO, CHAMBERS and COHEN, JJ., concur.

ENTER:

Matthew G. Kiernan

Clerk of the Court