Smalls v. Aji Industries, Inc., 13.

CourtNew York Court of Appeals
Writing for the CourtMemorandum
Citation883 N.E.2d 350,10 N.Y.3d 733
PartiesMarkking SMALLS, Appellant-Respondent, v. AJI INDUSTRIES, INC., et al., Respondents, and Jahkim A. Jenkins et al., Respondents-Appellants.
Docket Number13.
Decision Date12 February 2008
OPINION OF THE COURT MEMORANDUM.

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and the order of Supreme Court reinstated.

At 1:40 a.m. on December 14, 2001, Jahkim A. Jenkins, a novice driver, was operating a vehicle owned by his sister, Christchelle Smalls, when he misjudged a lefthand turn from Randall Avenue onto Zerega Avenue in New York City, lost control of the automobile, and struck a parked dumpster owned by AJI Industries, Inc. Markking Smalls, a passenger in the vehicle, allegedly suffered "serious injury" within the meaning of the No-Fault Law as a result (see Insurance Law § 5102[d]).

Markking Smalls subsequently sued AJI, Jenkins and Christchelle Smalls to recover for noneconomic loss and such other damages as he might be entitled to under the no-fault regime. As relevant to this appeal, he alleged that AJI "negligently maintain[ed] . . . [and] unlawfully situat[ed]" the dumpster "on public roadways" by "placing [it] on public roadways without any reflection tape, cones, triangles or other safety de-vices." AJI moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Supreme Court denied the motion, but the Appellate Division reversed, with two Justices dissenting.

"As we have stated frequently, the proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact. Failure to make such prima facie showing requires a denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers" (Alvarez v. Prospect Hasp., 68 N.Y.2d 320, 324, 508 N.Y.S.2d 923, 501 N.E.2d 572 [1986] [citations omitted and emphasis added]). In order to make out a prima facie case on its motion, AJI was required to show that the dumpster was located neither in a driving lane on Zerega Avenue nor in the zebra-striped safety zone where parking was not...

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  • CPLR 3211(a) (7): demurrer or merits-testing device?
    • United States
    • Albany Law Review Vol. 73 No. 1, September 2009
    • September 22, 2009
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