Lopez v. New York City Housing Authority

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering separate trials on the issues of liability and damages since the question of damages was not interwoven with that of liability. At the trial of this personal injury action, it was the infant plaintiff’s theory of liability that there should have been rubber mats on the ground near the slide from which she fell. There was no need to resort to medical evidence of plaintiff’s injuries to establish that the mats were not in place (compare, Schwartz v Binder, 91 AD2d 660). Nor did the absence of medical evidence make the court’s instructions…