Hook v. Vill. of Ellenville, 46 A.D.3d 1318 (N.Y. App. Div. 2007). · Go Syfert
Hook v. Vill. of Ellenville, 46 A.D.3d 1318 (N.Y. App. Div. 2007). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
5 citation events (5 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: Boice v. City of Kingston (nyappdiv, 2009-03-05)
Top citers, strongest first. 4 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Boice v. City of Kingston
N.Y. App. Div. · 2009 · confidence medium
Furthermore, to the extent that plaintiffs allege that defendant negligently failed to repave the entire roadway, such conduct amounts to nonfeasance, rather than affirmative negligence (see Hook v Village of Ellenville, 46 AD3d 1318, 1320 [2007]; Agrusa v Town of Liberty, 291 AD2d 620, 621 [2002]; Merchant v Town of Halfmoon, 194 AD2d 1031, 1032 [1993]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Thompson v. Seligman
N.Y. App. Div. · 2008 · confidence medium
Under these circumstances, we agree with Supreme Court that plaintiff has raised a question of fact as to whether defendants exercised the appropriate degree of care in performing their duty to investigate the availability of a third-party claim by plaintiff (see Guiles v Simser, 35 AD3d 1054, 1055 [2006]), which precluded granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment (see Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320, 324 [1986]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]; Hook v Village of Ellenville, 46 AD3d 1318, 1319 [2007]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co. v. Malick
N.Y. App. Div. · 2008 · confidence medium
Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853 [1985]) and that there were questions of fact which precluded granting plaintiff’s cross motion for summary judgment (see Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320, 324 [1986]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]; Hook v Village of Ellenville, 46 AD3d 1318, 1319 [2007]).
discussed Cited "see" Hirsh v. Brunenkant
N.Y. App. Div. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853 [1985] [citations omitted]; see Hook v Village of Ellenville, 46 AD3d 1318, 1319 [2007]) in order to shift the burden to the nonmovant (see Dow v Schenectady County Dept. of Social Servs., 46 AD3d 1084, 1084 [2007]).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Amanda L. Hook
v.
Village of Ellenville
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Dec 27, 2007.
46 A.D.3d 1318
Carpinello.
Cited by 5 opinions  |  Published
Carpinello, J.

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Bradley, J.), entered October 2, 2006 in Ulster County, which, among other things, denied the motion of defendant Village of[*1319] Ellenville for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against it.

One evening in September 2001, plaintiff was exiting a relative’s residence when she injured herself by tripping and falling on a cracked and uneven sidewalk owned by defendant Village of Ellenville. She thereafter commenced this action to recover for her injuries. The principal issue on this appeal from a denial of the Village’s motion for summary judgment is whether plaintiff submitted sufficient evidence to create a question of fact as to whether the Village affirmatively created this defect since the requisite prior written notice of same was admittedly not provided (see Amabile v City of Buffalo, 93 NY2d 471, 474 [1999]; Stewart v Town of Waterford, 152 AD2d 837, 839 [1989]).* Plaintiff attempted to prove the affirmative creation of a defective condition by the Village in two ways.

First, plaintiff argued that the area of the sidewalk where she fell was cracked and uneven because municipal vehicles had previously parked on it. In this regard, she relied on two separate affidavits of a nonparty witness who formerly resided at the subject premises. The first affidavit preceded this witness’s deposition and the second followed it. In her first affidavit, this witness averred that municipal equipment was parked “ora the very sidewalk” where plaintiff fell (emphasis added). Thereafter, however, she unequivocally testified at her deposition that she never saw municipal trucks or equipment on the subject sidewalk. In the second subsequent affidavit, she then “clarifies” that any municipal vehicles she may have observed during her period of residency were either within 20 feet of the subject sidewalk or parked “in front of’ the premises where plaintiff fell. Even disregarding her inconsistencies on this issue, we are unpersuaded that this nonparty witness’s latest affidavit raised a question of fact concerning whether the Village created the subject defect by parking any vehicle on the sidewalk.

Next, plaintiff proffered the affidavit of a licensed professional engineer who opined that the Village’s purported repair of one portion of the sidewalk without also repairing the area where plaintiff fell created a dangerous condition. The problem with this opinion is twofold. First, the engineer has no knowledge as to when this alleged repair project took place or, most importantly, by whom. Additionally, he has no knowledge[*1320] whether the cracked and uneven slabs which caused plaintiffs fall were in fact cracked and uneven at the time of this prior repair. Thus, his opinion that an unsafe condition was created when certain slabs were replaced without replacing all slabs is based on pure conjecture. In any event, such a partial repair, even assuming it was performed by the Village, would have constituted an act of omission and not an affirmative act of negligence (see Lifer v City of Kingston, 295 AD2d 695, 696 [2002]). In the absence of any credible evidence that the Village created the defective condition that caused plaintiffs fall, the Village’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted.

Cardona, P.J., Mercure, Crew III and Lahtinen, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order is modified, on the law, without costs, by reversing so much thereof as denied the motion of defendant Village of Ellenville; motion granted, summary judgment awarded to said defendant and complaint dismissed against it; and, as so modified, affirmed.

We reject plaintiffs contention that a prior order of Supreme Court denying an earlier motion for summary judgment is “law of the case,” particularly in light of the subsequent deposition of a nonparty witness (see Moser v Devine Real Estate, Inc. [Florida], 42 AD3d 731, 733 [2007]; see also Siegel, NY Prac § 287, at 470-471 [4th ed]).