LOWENSTERN v. SHERMAN SQUARE REALTY CORP (2018)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol R. Edmead, J.), entered on or about November 3, 2017, which, inter alia, denied defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint in its entirety, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion granted.  The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

The defendants made a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment based on the storm-in-progress doctrine through the submission of their witness's and a nonparty witness's deposition testimony, as well as certified meteorological data and an affidavit from a meteorologist, all of which establish that there was a storm in progress at the time of plaintiff's accident (see Weinberger v. 52 Duane Assoc., LLC, 102 A.D.3d 618, 959 N.Y.S.2d 154 [1st Dept. 2013] ).  In addition, the building surveillance videos show that snow was falling at the time of plaintiff's accident.

Plaintiff's conclusory deposition testimony that it was not snowing at the time of her accident fails to raise a triable issue of fact.

Nor has plaintiff demonstrated that defendants' pre-salting of the subject sidewalk created or exacerbated a dangerous condition.  Defendants submitted competent evidence that pre-salting the sidewalk was reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, and plaintiff's speculation that a jury could conclude otherwise was insufficient to defeat defendants' motion (see Caraballo v. Kingsbridge Apt. Corp., 59 A.D.3d 270, 873 N.Y.S.2d 299 [1st Dept. 2009] ).