MATIAS v. REBECCA BAKERY CORP (2007)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Diane T. Renwick, J.), entered March 2, 2007, which denied defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Defendants have not adduced sufficient evidence to remove any issue of fact that they neither created nor had actual or constructive notice of the hazard.  Nor did they indicate when they had last inspected the floor before the accident (Joachim v. 1824 Church Ave., Inc., 12 A.D.3d 409, 784 N.Y.S.2d 157 [2004] ).  Given that the accident occurred in the kitchen area, a center of activity for the bakery that was not frequented by patrons, a trier of the facts could draw an inference that defendants' employees created the condition that caused plaintiff's slip and fall (Mete v. GMRI, Inc., 41 A.D.3d 123, 836 N.Y.S.2d 609 [2007];  Kesselman v. Lever House Rest., 29 A.D.3d 302, 305, 816 N.Y.S.2d 13 [2006] ).

We have considered plaintiff's argument for summary judgment on res ipsa loquitur grounds and find it unavailing.