Tratt v. Washington Bldg. Mgt. Co., 2007 NY Slip Op 51006(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 5/16/2007)
| Citation | 2007 NY Slip Op 51006 |
| Decision Date | 16 May 2007 |
| Docket Number | 2002-1099. |
| Parties | DANIEL S. TRATT, Plaintiff, v. WASHINGTON BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMPANY, Defendant, WASHINGTON BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMPANY, Third-Party Plaintiff, v. THE SPORTS BAR AND UNCLE TONY'S BAR Third-Party Defendants. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court (New York) |
POWERS & SANTOLA, JOHN H. FISHER, ESQ., OF COUNSEL OFFICE & POST OFFICE ADDRESS ALBANY, NY, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF.
LAW OFFICES OF LAURIE G. OGDEN, P. DAVID TWICHEL, ESQ., OF COUNSEL, OFFICE & POST OFFICE ADDRESS, SYRACUSE, NY, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT AND THIRD-PARTY PLAINTIFF WASHINGTON BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMPANY.
CAHILL & BEEHM, JAMES N. CAHILL, ESQ., OF COUNSEL, OFFICE & POST OFFICE ADDRESS, ENDICOTT, NY, COUNSEL FOR THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT THE SPORTS BAR.
STANTON M. DRAZEN, ESQ., OFFICE & POST OFFICE ADDRESS, BINGHAMTON, NY, COUNSEL FOR THIRD-PARTY DEFENDANT UNCLE TONY'S BAR.
Third-party defendant The Sports Bar seeks an order: (1) dismissing the third-party complaint for failure to state a cause of action under General Obligations Law 11-100 and/or 11-101; or, in the alternative, (2) awarding summary judgment in its favor dismissing the third-party complaint on the merits.1
This motion was originally returnable December 15, 2006, but adjourned due to on-going attempts to locate and depose non-party witnesses. The court ultimately heard oral argument on April 4, 2007 from defendant and third-party plaintiff Washington Building Management Company (hereinafter "Washington") and third-party defendant The Sports Bar. Neither plaintiff Daniel S. Tratt nor third-party defendant Uncle Tony's Bar appeared at motion term or submitted any papers in relation to this motion.
There are two aspects of this case. The main action involves a premises liability action in which plaintiff Tratt sued defendant Washington — his landlord — for failing to provide and/or maintain an adequate railing for an interior staircase near the front entrance of an apartment building located at 217 Washington Street in Binghamton, New York. The third-party action involves the defendant-landlord (Washington) who in turn commenced a third-party action against two taverns (Uncle Tony's and The Sports Bar) under the Dram Shop Act. More specifically, Washington's theory of liability in the third-party action is that both Uncle Tony's and The Sports Bar violated GOL 11-100 and 11-101 by serving alcohol to plaintiff, a minor and/or visibly intoxicated person, thereby entitling Washington to contribution and/or indemnity for the "injuries" suffered by Washington (e.g. due to its potential liability to plaintiff).
In the spring of 1999, plaintiff Daniel S. Tratt, age 20 at the time, was a junior at Binghamton University and lived off campus in his Sigma Alpha Epsilon ("SAE") fraternity house/apartment building at 217 Washington Street in Binghamton, New York which was owned by defendant Washington. In the early morning hours of May 12, 1999, plaintiff suffered catastrophic injuries in a fall of approximately twenty feet from a third floor landing onto a second floor landing inside the fraternity house/apartment building. Plaintiff is permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of this fall.
The events of May 12, 1999 started to unfold the previous night when plaintiff made the tragic choice to engage in underage drinking. The evening of May 11, 1999 must be recreated based upon deposition testimony of various witnesses, the police report, and medical reports since plaintiff himself has no recollection of the day prior to his accident or the fall itself.2
Rick Hyman attended Binghamton University and was a fellow member and roommate of plaintiff at the SAE fraternity house. According to Mr. Hyman, on the afternoon of May 11, 1999, SAE held a barbecue on the roof of the fraternity house which included some drinking. Mr. Hyman recalls plaintiff arriving at the roof to "hang out" after finishing a test (Hyman EBT, pp 20-21). In the late evening of May 11, 1999, Mr. Hyman stated that plaintiff and other friends decided to go into downtown Binghamton to some local bars.
Mr. Hyman recalls he was at Uncle Tony's in the early morning hours of May 12, 1999, when somebody told him to go next door [to The Sports Bar] and get plaintiff and take him home (Hyman EBT, p 27). Mr. Hyman recalled the sequence of events as follows:
Mr. Hyman further stated as follows:
Mr. Hyman recalled walking back to 217 Washington Street with plaintiff and some other friends. When they arrived at the fraternity house, Mr. Hyman stated that plaintiff broke the plexiglass in the front door and then recalled plaintiff chasing friends up the interior stairway and wrestling around (Hyman EBT, p 33).3 After going downstairs to use the rest room, Mr. Hyman was standing on the first landing (between the second and third floor) and looked up to see plaintiff on the stairs (between the third and fourth floor) and then fall sideways over the railing (Hyman EBT, p 39).
Mr. Hyman was also interviewed by the City of Binghamton police department which investigated this accident.4 The Police Report indicates that emergency services received a call at 1:04 a.m. on the morning of May 12, 1999 that a man had fallen at 217 Washington Street (Cahill Affidavit, Ex C). Police officer Petryszyn responded to the scene and found plaintiff unconscious. Officer Petryszyn's report states that he interviewed Mr. Hyman at Wilson Hospital on the date of the accident and was advised by Mr. Hyman as follows:
[h]as out drinking with Tratt from around 8:30 pm 5-11-99 to approx 10:30 pm at Uncle Tony's Bar. Hyman didn't know how much Tratt drank but stated he was really drunk and ended up getting thrown out of the bar because he was throwing up. Assumed Tratt was going home but at approx 12:30 another friend told him he should go get Tratt out of the Sports Bar because he was really drunk. Hyman stated he then went to get Tratt and walked him home.
(Cahill Affidavit, Ex C; emphasis added).
The next non-party witness to provide deposition testimony was Peter Nenadich. Mr. Nenadich also attended Binghamton University with plaintiff and was a member of the same SAE fraternity. Although Mr. Nenadich never lived at the fraternity house located at 217 Washington Street, he attended various meetings and parties at that location. On the evening of May 11, 1999, Mr. Nenadich recalls going to Uncle Tony's around 9:00 p.m. and leaving at approximately 1:00 a.m. Mr. Nenadich stated that plaintiff was at Uncle Tony's for a significant portion of that same time period, but recalls plaintiff leaving Uncle Tony's before him although he was unsure of the exact time.
Mr. Nenadich stated he left Uncle Tony's after being told by (Nenadich EBT, p 25). The witness further recalled that he (Nenadich EBT, p 25). Mr. Nenadich also stated that he met plaintiff on the sidewalk in front of the Sports Bar and observed that "I would say that he was probably drunk, yes, if that's what your looking for" and (Nenadich EBT, p 27).
Next, The Sports Bar submits the deposition testimony of its co-owner, Donald P. Jackson (Cahill Affidavit, Ex D).5 Mr. Jackson is an absentee owner who resides in Colorado. Mr. Jackson did not have any personal knowledge regarding the events of May 11 and 12, 1999 as he was not present in the bar on those dates. Mr. Jackson stated, however, that his two sisters were bartending at the times in question and that both had told him that they had no recollection of plaintiff on May 11 or 12, 1999. Mr. Jackson also stated that due to the bar's concern about underage drinking by university students it started a control process at the door in approximately 1998 to check driver's licenses for forgeries with a special light.
Also submitted to the court were several of plaintiff's medical reports, including the laboratory reports confirming that he had a blood alcohol content on May 12, 1999 of .26% (Supplemental Affidavit of P. David Twichell, Esq., Ex A).
Two other potential non-party witnesses warrant mention. This court granted an adjournment of this motion originally scheduled for December 15, 2006 to permit Washington additional time to depose other non-party witnesses, Brian Zakrocki located in London and Ronald Borish serving in Iraq and tentatively scheduled to return in July 2007. At oral argument, the parties were unable to provide any additional information regarding a timetable regarding deposing these non-party witnesses, and at The Sports Bar's insistence, this motion went forward.
On May 20, 2004,Washington filed a third-party action against The Sports Bar and Uncle Tony's.6 The third-party...
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