Court Opinion

ID: 9786501
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 23:56:53.620202+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:36:45.789572
License: Public Domain

Harvey, J. (dissenting).
I would reverse the judgment in favor of plaintiffs and remit the matter to Trial Term for a new trial. In my opinion, the jury verdict was against the weight of the credible evidence to so great an extent that a new trial is necessary to determine all issues.
This is a fall-down case which is distinguishable from most because the physical conditions which constituted the claimed hazardous situation were plainly evident to plaintiff Salvatore Bottone, Jr., and recognized by him to have been hazardous. Although he recognized the hazard, Bottone did nothing to avoid *925the danger. Rather, he freely continued on his predetermined course of conduct without making a single adjustment to accommodate the conditions which he observed to exist. On the other hand, from the evidence introduced, the worst that can be said about the conduct of defendants is that, although they had no knowledge of a dangerous condition, they permitted such a condition to exist.
Although the law allows a litigant a multitude of opportunities to discover evidence prior to trial, plaintiffs’ proof of negligence on the part of defendants was more speculative than real. There was no direct evidence that either defendant deposited its waste materials in such a manner as to impede Bottone from the free and unobstructed use of the stairway which he had enjoyed during his five previous uses of the stairway on the day of the accident.
A review of all of the facts is required. General Electric (GE), owner of the building involved, was in the process of renovating the building in which the accident occurred. There was no general contractor other than GE itself. The evidence is vague, but it is evident that office space was being created in areas not previously so devoted. Defendant Levi Case Company (Levi Case) was involved to the extent that it installed an air-conditioning system. Levi Case’s subcontractor insulated the air-conditioning ducts. Defendant New York Telephone Company (NYTEL) installed telephones and circuits. Unnamed other contractors provided other renovations. At some time during the progress of the work, GE started to use the space for its employees, including Bottone, to perform their regular duties. Ostensibly, once the owner’s personnel started to occupy and use the premises, the various contractors were to perform their duties after 5:00 p.m., when GE evacuated the building. The proof was contradictory in this respect.
The controversy involves activities on the sixth and highest floor of the building. The accident happened when Bottone tripped on debris located at the juncture of an ancillary stairway and landing on that floor. On that occasion, he was aware of the fact that renovation activities were taking place. He also knew that the sixth floor landing was being used as a staging area for the removal of construction waste from that floor to the ground area. Bottone had observed the debris on five prior occasions on that day, but it had not been previously placed so as to interfere with his use of the stairway. The landing was adjacent to the elevator, separated by a wall in which there was a door. There was no evidence that either defendant knew that many GE employees used the ancillary stairway rather than the elevator.
*926On Bottone’s sixth use of the stairway to descend from the sixth to the fifth floor on the day of the accident, he noticed, for the first time, that debris impeded his proposed route to descend the stairway. From his own testimony, it is clear that Bottone saw precisely that which existed and which he admitted he had determined to have been hazardous. At that point in time, with a very minimum of extra effort, Bottone could have completely avoided the accident. He could have used the elevator, he could have pushed the debris aside with his foot, or he could have used the bannister for support before he endeavored to negotiate the stairway in an ordinary manner. Bottone did not exercise that degree of care which a reasonably diligent person would have exercised for his own safety. He was not walking into unknown conditions. In spite of those facts, the jury found Bottone completely free of blame and assessed the two defendants $460,000 for causing the injuries.
The only evidence against defendants was that the debris on the landing included certain waste ordinarily associated with the activities in which they had been involved. For most of the day, that debris was not in a position to impede Bottone’s use of the stairway. Who placed the debris in the position which created a hazard is not established by the evidence. Neither was there evidence tending to indicate that either defendant knew it was near the stairway. At best, the jury could have determined that in one manner or another defendants permitted the debris to be located in such a manner as to create a danger. But to have reached that conclusion without finding any blame on the part of Bottone is shocking. If it can be held that defendants ought to have foreseen an accident of this kind and taken some precaution to prevent it, then so ought Bottone to have proceeded in a manner calculated to avoid the danger (see, Nucci v Warshaw Constr. Corp., 12 NY2d 16, 19).
Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.