Summary
In Van Slyke v. Fivey (supra) plaintiff slipped and fell on an icy walk along the rear of an apartment house in which she lived and which was owned by the defendant.
Summary of this case from Schmidt v. CarperOpinion
June 30, 1943.
Appeal from Supreme Court, Albany County.
The plaintiff, Elaine Van Slyke, slipped and fell on an icy walk along the rear of an apartment house in which she lived and which was owned by the defendant. This was a common walk provided by the defendant for the use of all of his tenants, and was located at a point where roof water dripped on it. There were no gutters on the building. The water would run off of the roof on the walk and freeze. Hummocks and ridges of ice, very uneven, covered the walk in some places from two to four inches thick. This icy condition had existed almost continuously for two months, and for at least two weeks prior to the accident. Some of it was directly in front of a door leading from the building out onto the walk. Mrs. Van Slyke came out of this door, stepped on the walk, slipped and fell. Although she had knowledge of the presence of the ice on the walk, it was impossible for her to reach her destination without traveling on the walk. These facts made out a prima facie case. There was no proof in behalf of the defendant. The issues of negligence and contributory negligence were submitted to the jury which returned verdicts in favor of Mrs. Van Slyke and her husband. These verdicts were sustained by the evidence. Judgments and orders reversed on the law and facts, with costs, and verdicts reinstated. Hill, P.J., Bliss, Heffernan and Schenck, JJ., concur; Crapser, J., dissents and votes to affirm on the ground that on her own testimony plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence.