—by Adam Kuhn
Sherman v. N.Y. State Thruway Auth., No. 56, 2016 N.Y. LEXIS 1061 (May 5, 2016).
Abstract:
The New York Court of Appeals granted summary judgment for the defendant in a personal injury claim for a slip-and-fall. Applying the “storm in progress” doctrine, the Court concluded that the storm had not ended at the time of plaintiff’s fall, and therefore the defendant was not responsible.
***
Rodney Sherman, a New York State Trooper, brought a personal injury claim against the New York State Thruway Authority after falling on an icy sidewalk outside the precinct. Sherman argued that the Authority was negligent for failing to keep the sidewalk clear of ice. The Authority argued that it was entitled to summary judgment on the “storm in progress” doctrine. The Appellate Division, Second Department, granted summary judgment for the Authority, and Sherman appealed. The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the appellate division.
The storm in progress doctrine says that a landowner is not responsible for injuries occurring on his or her property if the injuries result from an icy condition “during an ongoing storm or for a reasonable time thereafter.” The Authority established that there was an ongoing storm at the time of Sherman’s fall. An ice storm occurred the night before the fall, and a weather report showed it was raining at near freezing temperatures when Sherman fell. Since the storm was still ongoing, the Authority’s responsibility of reducing the icy condition did not yet arise. Sherman was unable to raise a triable issue of fact.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Rivera argued there were issues of fact about whether the storm had ended, and if it did, whether a reasonable time had passed for the Authority to manage the icy sidewalk.