SHILES v. CARILLON NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER LLC (2008)

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (R. Doyle, J.), dated August 23, 2007, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The defendants established, as a matter of law, that the alleged defect in the sidewalk was trivial and nonactionable and did not possess the characteristics of a trap or nuisance (see Trincere v. County of Suffolk, 90 N.Y.2d 976, 665 N.Y.S.2d 615, 688 N.E.2d 489;  Hecht v. City of New York, 60 N.Y.2d 57, 467 N.Y.S.2d 187, 454 N.E.2d 527;  Morris v. Greenburgh Central School Dist. No. 7, 5 A.D.3d 567, 774 N.Y.S.2d 74;  DiNapoli v. Huntington Hosp., 303 A.D.2d 359, 755 N.Y.S.2d 655;  Hymanson v. A.L.L. Assoc., 300 A.D.2d 358, 751 N.Y.S.2d 756;  Riser v. New York City Hous. Auth., 260 A.D.2d 564, 688 N.Y.S.2d 645).  Although the injured plaintiff, in her deposition testimony, described the alleged elevation differential as two inches, photographs of the sidewalk, which she confirmed fairly and accurately represented the accident site, indicate that the elevation differential was slight (see Hawkins v. Carter Community Hous. Dev. Fund Corp., 40 A.D.3d 812, 835 N.Y.S.2d 731;  Dick v. Gap, Inc., 16 A.D.3d 615, 792 N.Y.S.2d 194).  Further, the injured plaintiff's testimony established that the incident occurred during daylight hours on a clear day with nothing obstructing her view.  After considering the height and width of the defect, as well as the time, place, and circumstances of the injury, the record supports a finding that the alleged defect did not have the characteristics of a trap or snare (see Trincere v. County of Suffolk, 90 N.Y.2d 976, 665 N.Y.S.2d 615, 688 N.E.2d 489).  In opposition, the plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact.

The plaintiffs' remaining contentions are without merit.