In Nicoletti v. Iracane, plaintiff was hired to resurface a deck attached to defendant’s home.  Prior to starting the work, plaintiff visited defendant’s home to inspect the deck.  As he was walking on the deck, the deck caved in, and the contractor fell through the deck.  As a result, the contractor sued the defendant for common law negligence and under New York Labor Law § 200 for his injuries stemming from the dangerous condition of the deck.

The court awarded summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The court explained that for an owner to be labile for a dangerous condition on his premises, the owner must have created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of the condition.  The condition must also be visible, apparent, and exist for a long enough time so that it can be reasonably discovered upon inspection.

In this case, the dangerous condition of the deck was latent and could not be discovered upon reasonable inspection.  Thus, the court held that the defendant did not have actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition and was therefore not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries.

This case is one of those rare occasions where the property owner was protected from an unforeseeable injury due to a latent defect.

Thanks to Moya O’Connor for her contribution to this post.

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