January 2013

In an action in which plaintiff claimed to have slipped and fell on a liquid detergent spill in the laundry detergent aisle of the defendant’s big box store, Justice Howard H. Sherman (Supreme Court, Bronx County) granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding the defendant made a prima facie demonstration that it neither created the hazardous condition, nor had actual or constructive notice of its existence.  The Court relied upon the affidavit of defendant’s manager, attesting to an inspection performed ten minutes prior to the plaintiff’s incident, in holding that the liquid detergent spill at issue was visible and apparent and that it did not exist for a sufficient period of time to be discovered and remedied prior to the incident.