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Alyson GRAHAM and Ben Graham, Claimants–Appellants, v. STATE of New York, Defendant–Respondent. (Claim No. 122092.)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: Claimants commenced this action against defendant, the State of New York, seeking damages for injuries allegedly sustained by Alyson Graham (claimant) when, while jogging on the Centerway Bridge in Corning, New York, she tripped on a steel plate that was elevated from the concrete sidewalk. After a trial on the issue of liability, the Court of Claims dismissed the claim. Contrary to claimants' contention, the court properly determined, after considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, that they failed to establish the existence of a dangerous or defective condition on the sidewalk at the time of the accident, and that the defect in the sidewalk was, in fact, trivial (see Hutchinson v. Sheridan Hill House Corp., 26 N.Y.3d 66, 78–79, 19 N.Y.S.3d 802, 41 N.E.3d 766 [2015]; Trincere v. County of Suffolk, 90 N.Y.2d 976, 977, 665 N.Y.S.2d 615, 688 N.E.2d 489 [1997] ). The evidence at trial established that the incident occurred on a clear, sunny day, that claimant saw the readily apparent steel plate, and that the height differential between the steel plate and the sidewalk was small. The determination of the court is “supported by a fair interpretation of the evidence,” and we therefore will not disturb it (Guastella v. State of New York, 135 A.D.3d 819, 819, 24 N.Y.S.3d 139 [2d Dept. 2016]; see generally Black v. State of New York [appeal No. 2], 125 A.D.3d 1523, 1524, 3 N.Y.S.3d 837 [4th Dept. 2015] ).
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Docket No: 612
Decided: May 04, 2018
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York.
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