Case Name: Shulan Zhao, Appellant, v. Brookfield Office Properties, Inc., et al., Respondents
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2015-05-28
Citations: 128 A.D.3d 623
Docket Number: 
Parties: Shulan Zhao, Appellant, v Brookfield Office Properties, Inc., et al., Respondents.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 128
Pages: 623–623

Head Matter:
Shulan Zhao, Appellant, v Brookfield Office Properties, Inc., et al., Respondents.
[10 NYS3d 212]

Opinion:
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Geoffrey D. Wright, J.), entered June 17, 2014, which granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendants established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff was injured when she allegedly lost her balance and fell when stepping off a low concrete platform onto a cobblestone-covered surface. Defendants demonstrated that the cobblestone-covered area was an open and obvious condition and was not inherently dangerous (see e.g. Abraido v 2001 Marcus Ave., LLC, 126 AD3d 571 [1st Dept 2015]). Defendants referred to evidence that plaintiff traversed the cobblestone-covered area before the accident and submitted photographs of the area showing its open and obvious nature, demonstrating that it was "readily observable by anyone employing the reasonable use of their senses" (Wachspress v Central Parking Sys. of N.Y., Inc., 111 AD3d 499, 499 [1st Dept 2013]).
In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact. Her argument that the cobblestones were obscured from view is unpreserved, as it is raised for the first time on appeal, and, in any event, is refuted by the photographic evidence. Concur— Andrias, J.R, Moskowitz, DeGrasse, Gische and Kapnick, JJ.