LICURGO VILLAR v. SAMOUHA (2024)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (W. Franc Perry, J.), entered May 20, 2020, which granted plaintiff's motion for leave to reargue her motion for a default judgment, and upon reargument, adhered to its prior determination, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, the motion for a default judgment granted as to liability, and the matter remanded to Supreme Court for an inquest on damages.  Appeal from order, same court and Justice, entered December 10, 2019, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as superseded by the appeal from the order granting reargument.

Plaintiff established the facts constituting her personal injury claim by submitting proof of service of her verified complaint, the facts constituting the cause of action, and defendant's default in answering (see Curra v. Brunswick Hosp. Ctr., Inc., 161 A.D.3d 1042, 1043, 78 N.Y.S.3d 204 [2d Dept. 2018]).  The complaint alleged that a dangerous or hazardous condition on the premises caused her to fall and that the occurrence was solely the result of defendant's negligence in the ownership, operation, maintenance, and control of the premises, and without any negligence on plaintiff's part contributing to the accident (see id.;  see also Bigio v. Gooding, 213 A.D.3d 480, 481, 184 N.Y.S.3d 314 [1st Dept. 2023]).  Furthermore, plaintiff stated in her verification that the complaint's allegations were true to her own knowledge (see Bigio, 213 A.D.3d at 481, 184 N.Y.S.3d 314).  Because defendant, by defaulting, is deemed to have admitted all traversable allegations in the verified complaint, including the basic allegation of liability, the allegations were sufficient to enable the court to determine that a viable negligence cause of action existed (id.).