Opinion
11-17-2016
George NEWMAN et al., Appellants, v. RCPI LANDMARK PROPERTIES, LLC, et al., Respondents.
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, New York City (Annie E. Causey and Joseph P. Napoli of counsel), for appellants. Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Albertson (Glenn A. Kaminska and Nicholas M. Cardascia of counsel), for respondents. Margaret G. Klein, Defense Association of New York, Inc., New York City (Andrew Zajac, Dawn C. DeSimone, Rona L. Platt, Brendan T. Fitzpatrick and Jonathan T. Uejio of counsel), and McGaw, Alventosa & Zajac, Jericho, for Defense Association of New York, Inc., amicus curiae.
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, New York City (Annie E. Causey and Joseph P. Napoli of counsel), for appellants.
Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Albertson (Glenn A. Kaminska and Nicholas M. Cardascia of counsel), for respondents.
Margaret G. Klein, Defense Association of New York, Inc., New York City (Andrew Zajac, Dawn C. DeSimone, Rona L. Platt, Brendan T. Fitzpatrick and Jonathan T. Uejio of counsel), and McGaw, Alventosa & Zajac, Jericho, for Defense Association of New York, Inc., amicus curiae.
OPINION OF THE COURT
MEMORANDUM.
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint denied.
This is an ordinary negligence case. Questions regarding proximate cause generally are for a trier of fact (see Derdiarian v. Felix Contr. Corp., 51 N.Y.2d 308, 315, 434 N.Y.S.2d 166, 414 N.E.2d 666 [1980], rearg. denied 52 N.Y.2d 784, 436 N.Y.S.2d 622, 417 N.E.2d 1010 [1980] ). Defendants' own submissions do not establish as a matter of law that their alleged negligence was not a proximate cause of the accident (see generally Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562, 427 N.Y.S.2d 595, 404 N.E.2d 718 [1980] ). Viewed “ ‘in the light most favorable to [plaintiffs,] the non-moving part[ies]’ ” (Vega v. Restani Constr. Corp., 18 N.Y.3d 499, 503, 942 N.Y.S.2d 13, 965 N.E.2d 240 [2012], quoting Ortiz v. Varsity Holdings, LLC, 18 N.Y.3d 335, 339, 937 N.Y.S.2d 157, 960 N.E.2d 948 [2011] ), those submissions leave open the possibility that some negligence on defendants' part contributed to the injuries incurred by George Newman (plaintiff) when he descended from the loading dock in question, and that there is a causal link between that alleged negligence and plaintiff's fall.
Chief Judge DIFIORE and Judges PIGOTT, RIVERA, ABDUS–SALAAM, STEIN, FAHEY and GARCIA concur.
Order reversed, with costs, and defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint denied, in a memorandum.