Renovation Company Not Liable for Rebar in Garden (NY)

In Sewesky v. City of New York and Counsel on the Environment, the plaintiff allegedly tripped over the edge of a concrete slab and was lacerated by rebar sticking out of the concrete in a city-owend community garden.

Defendant GrowNYC provided funding and assistance for a renovation project in the garden three years prior to the incident. Counsel argued GrowNYC could not be held liable because it did not own, occupy, control and make any special use of the garden, had no involvement with the garden after the renovation project was complete, and plaintiff could not demonstrate that GrowNYC placed or had knowledge of the rebar. Plaintiff could not testify to how long the condition existed before his accident.  The Court agreed with GrowNYC’s arguments and dismissed the case against the defendant.

Thanks to Paul Vitale for his contribution to this post and please write to Mike Bono for more information.