Dana Marjieh Obtains Dismissal on Behalf of Queens Restaurant

In (Matusiak v. City of New York, et al.), Plaintiff claimed damages resulting from an alleged defective sidewalk abutting a parking lot in front of a neighboring property of our client, Sushi Island, a restaurant in Queens. Black Marjieh & Sanford LLP was able to secure dismissal of Sushi Island from the suit before the completion of discovery, and even before the deposition of our client took place.

Another co-defendant in this case was the landlord of both Sushi Island’s premises and the other co-defendant’s neighboring property. The sidewalk was cracked and missing portions of concrete. Black Marjieh & Sanford LLP moved for summary judgment before the deposition of our client even took place, arguing that Sushi Island did not owe Plaintiff a duty of care. Not only is it the non-delegable duty of the co-defendant owner to maintain and repair the sidewalk pursuant to Section 7-210 of the Administrative Code, but the defect identified by Plaintiff abutted another co-defendant’s premises, and not Sushi Island’s premises.

Plaintiff argued that there was a triable issue of fact concerning whether Sushi Island caused the broken condition of the sidewalk through special use of same, as Sushi Island customers were able to use the parking lot located between the sidewalk and the neighboring storefront. The Court found that the parking lot not only did not abut the premises leased by Sushi Island, but it was not used exclusively for the benefit of Sushi Island. The Court found that Sushi Island had only limited use of the parking lot for its customers and that the co-defendant neighboring tenant also had use of the parking lot for its customers.