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Martino v. Sullivan's of Liberty, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 5, 2001
282 A.D.2d 505 (N.Y. App. Div. 2001)

Opinion

Submitted March 1, 2001

April 5, 2001.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Oliver, J.), dated November 29, 1999, as (1) granted the separate motions of the defendant Can-Am Trading Co., Inc., and the third-and second third-party defendant for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and (2) denied, as academic, that branch of their motion which was to amend the summons and complaint to assert a direct claim against the third-and second third-party defendant.

Anthony V. Barbiero, P.C., East Islip, N.Y., for appellants.

Muller Muller, Glens Falls, N.Y. (Robert J. Muller and Daniel J. Mannix of counsel), for third-and second third-party defendant-respondent.

Before: MYRIAM J. ALTMAN, J.P., GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, HOWARD MILLER, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The plaintiff Mary Ellen Martino allegedly sustained personal injuries as a result of a tobogganing accident. The injured plaintiff and her husband commenced this action against both the store where they purchased the toboggan and the distributor, alleging that they were negligent in failing to provide warnings about the risks of using the toboggan. After depositions were conducted, the plaintiffs moved to amend their pleadings to assert a direct claim against the manufacturer, the third-and second third-party defendant Les Enterprises St.-Ferdinand. The Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs' motion and dismissed the complaint, concluding that there was no duty to warn since the risks of tobogganing were obvious. We affirm.

A cause of action based upon a failure to warn cannot stand where, as here, the injured party is already aware of the specific hazard or the danger is readily discernible (see, Secone v. Raymond Corp., 240 A.D.2d 391; Banks v. Makita, U.S.A., 226 A.D.2d 659; Lonigro v. TDC Elecs., 215 A.D.2d 534). Dismissal of the action was also proper since the injured plaintiff assumed the risks inherent in the activity of tobogganing (see, Morgan v. State of New York, 90 N.Y.2d 471; Hernandez v. City of New York, 267 A.D.2d 280; Matter of Moore v. State of New York, 245 A.D.2d 456).

The plaintiffs' remaining contentions are without merit.


Summaries of

Martino v. Sullivan's of Liberty, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Apr 5, 2001
282 A.D.2d 505 (N.Y. App. Div. 2001)
Case details for

Martino v. Sullivan's of Liberty, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:MARY ELLEN MARTINO, ET AL., APPELLANTS, v. SULLIVAN'S OF LIBERTY, INC.…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Apr 5, 2001

Citations

282 A.D.2d 505 (N.Y. App. Div. 2001)
722 N.Y.S.2d 884

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