Castillo v. Aubuchon Hardware

*396Plaintiffs were required to prove that the step stool from which plaintiff Ellen Reilly Castillo allegedly fell did not perform as intended and to exclude causes for the failure not attributable to defendants (see Speller v Sears, Roebuck & Co., 100 NY2d 38, 41 [2003]). In support of their motion for summary judgment, defendants relied on plaintiffs deposition testimony that she used the step stool without incident for several years preceding her fall, and her inability to identify anything defective or dangerous about the step stool, and the expert opinion of a licensed professional engineer…