GREEN v. 1251 II LP (2018)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (George J. Silver, J.), entered July 3, 2017, which granted the motion of defendant 1251 America Associates II LP i/s/h/a Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc. (1251 America) to dismiss the complaint and all cross claims as against it, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff sustained severe injuries when, while standing on the sidewalk adjacent to a building owned by defendant 1251 America, a taxicab hopped the curb and struck her.  Moments before the accident, defendant taxicab driver had an altercation with defendant bike messenger.  The taxicab driver then allegedly steered his vehicle into the bike messenger, striking plaintiff in the process.

1251 America's motion was properly granted because it had no duty to install barriers on the public sidewalk to prevent against the unforeseeable risk that a car would mount the sidewalk and strike a pedestrian (see Pulka v. Edelman, 40 N.Y.2d 781, 390 N.Y.S.2d 393, 358 N.E.2d 1019 [1976];  Jiminez v. Shahid, 83 A.D.3d 900, 922 N.Y.S.2d 123 [2d Dept. 2011], lv denied 18 N.Y.3d 807, 2012 WL 489992 [2012];  Grandy v. Bavaro, 134 A.D.2d 957, 521 N.Y.S.2d 956 [4th Dept. 1987], lv denied 71 N.Y.2d 802, 527 N.Y.S.2d 768, 522 N.E.2d 1066 [1988] ).  Plaintiff's reliance on Administrative Code of City of N.Y. § 7–210 is misplaced.  Section 7–210 requires owners of property abutting the public sidewalk to perform various types of maintenance on the sidewalk, including replacing defective sidewalk flags and removing “snow, ice, dirt, or other material from the sidewalk” (see Vucetovic v. Epsom Downs, Inc., 10 N.Y.3d 517, 521, 860 N.Y.S.2d 429, 890 N.E.2d 191 [2008] ).  Since the statute imposes a new duty on landowners “in derogation of common law” and creates liability where none previously existed, it “must be strictly construed” (id. [internal quotation marks omitted] ), and cannot be interpreted to extend the landowner's obligations beyond the types of maintenance work listed in the statute and require them to protect pedestrians from remote risks posed by vehicular traffic.

Nor is there any basis for finding that 1251 America was a proximate cause of the accident, which occurred when the taxi driver drove onto the sidewalk after an altercation with the bike messenger (see Sheryll v. United Gen. Constr., 138 A.D.3d 612, 28 N.Y.S.3d 866 [1st Dept. 2016], lv denied 28 N.Y.3d 904, 2016 WL 5001246 [2016];  Chowes v. Aslam, 58 A.D.3d 790, 872 N.Y.S.2d 474 [2d Dept. 2011] ).