BM&S Obtains Voluntary Discontinuance in Multi-Party Premises Liability Action

In this Kings County premises liability action (Colon v. American Deli Market, et al., June 2019) plaintiff allegedly sustained serious injuries when, while jogging, she tripped on a defective portion of a sidewalk causing her to fall forward and land on the open cellar doors at the neighboring property, which was operated by a deli. BM&S represented the deli in this action, and at the close of discovery, filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that all claims against the deli should be dismissed because the allegedly defective portion of the sidewalk was not located on the deli’s property. We also argued that there was nothing inherently dangerous about the cellar doors being open and they were not a proximate cause of the incident.  The motion papers were so compelling and persuasive that the motion went unopposed, and all parties agreed to voluntarily discontinue their claims and cross-claims with prejudice against the deli.