CORTES v. CITY OF MOUNT VERNON (1999)

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Scarpino, J.), entered April 7, 1998, which granted the respective motions of the defendant City of Mount Vernon and the defendants Maria Diorgi, Dominick Pezzo, Pat Pezzo, and Theresa Corpino for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs.

 The plaintiff Judy Cortes allegedly sustained injuries when she tripped and fell on a raised portion of a public sidewalk in the City of Mount Vernon.   After the defendants Maria Diorgi, Dominick Pezzo, Pat Pezzo, and Theresa Corpino made out a prima facie case for summary judgment, the plaintiffs did not meet their burden of establishing the existence of a triable issue of fact as to whether the alleged defect was created by the owners of the abutting property (see, Darringer v. Furtsch, 225 A.D.2d 577, 639 N.Y.S.2d 98;  Zizzo v. City of New York, 176 A.D.2d 722, 723, 574 N.Y.S.2d 966).   An abutting owner will not be held responsible for the condition which caused the accident merely because he or she undertook repairs to other, unrelated areas of the sidewalk (see, Yass v. Deepdale Gardens, 187 A.D.2d 506, 507, 589 N.Y.S.2d 593).

 The dismissal of the complaint against the defendant City of Mount Vernon was also proper since the City submitted sufficient proof that it did not receive prior written notice of the alleged sidewalk defect (see, Amabile v. City of Buffalo, 93 N.Y.2d 471, 693 N.Y.S.2d 77, 715 N.E.2d 104;  Cruz v. City of New York, 218 A.D.2d 546, 547, 630 N.Y.S.2d 523;  Wisnowski v. City of Syracuse, 213 A.D.2d 1069, 624 N.Y.S.2d 329;  Goldberg v. Town of Hempstead, 156 A.D.2d 639, 549 N.Y.S.2d 138).

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.