New York, NY 

Counsel Cheryl Fuchs and associate Gabe Darwick obtained summary judgment in a premises liability suit in New York County.  In Deanne v. Alrose, 32 LLC, plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on an interior staircase while at work. Our client owned the building but had relinquished control to the plaintiff’s employer.

With this backdrop, we took an aggressive approach, moving for summary judgment before depositions. We argued that our client was an out-of-possession landlord that was not contractually obligated to make repairs; that it did not exercise control over the building; that plaintiff’s accident did not arise out of a structural defect; and that even if plaintiff’s accident did arise out of a structural defect, the defect did not violate a specific statutory provision. Plaintiff cross-moved to compel an expert inspection of the property and opposed the motion on the basis that it was premature.

The Court accepted our arguments, rejected plaintiff’s, and granted our client summary judgment.