Maloney v. Farris

The injured plaintiff allegedly tripped and fell over a defect in a sidewalk abutting the defendants’ premises. The plaintiff, and his wife suing derivatively, commenced this action against the defendants. The defendants moved, inter alia, for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, contending that they did not have notice of the alleged hazardous condition. The Supreme Court granted that branch of the motion.

In a trip and fall case, a defendant moving for summary judgment has the initial burden of making a prima facie showing that it neither created the hazardous condition nor had actual…