Kovacs v. Castle Restoration & Construction, Inc.

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Robert Lippmann, J.), entered July 1, 1998, which, after a jury trial, awarded plaintiffs the sum of $436,517.19, unanimously reversed, on the law, the facts and in the exercise of discretion, without costs or disbursements, and the matter remanded for a new trial on liability only to be conducted in accordance with the decision herein.

It was error to preclude defendant from introducing any testimony regarding plaintiff’s alleged culpable conduct, negligence or assumption of the risk, all of which, in its answer, defendant had asserted as an…