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Wallach v. American Home Products Corp.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Dec 23, 2002
300 A.D.2d 576 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)

Opinion

2001-09418

November 22, 2002.

December 23, 2002.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Skelos, J.), entered July 17, 2001, which granted the separate motions of the defendants American Home Products Corporation and Quinton Instrument Company, sued here collectively as American Home Products Corporation d/b/a Quinton Fitness Equipment, and the defendant New York Health Raquet Club, for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them.

Weissman Weissman, Mineola, N.Y. (Stanley Weissman of counsel), for appellant.

Costello Shea Gaffney, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Frederick N. Gaffney and Bradford Cooke of counsel), for respondents American Home Products Corporation and Quinton Instrument Company, sued here collectively as American Home Products Corporation d/b/a Quinton Fitness Equipment.

Gordon Silber, P.C., New York, N.Y. (David Henry Sculnick of counsel), for respondent New York Health Raquet Club.

Before: GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, J.P., LEO F. McGINITY, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, WILLIAM F. MASTRO, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff when he fell from a treadmill at the New York Health Racquet Club. The treadmill was manufactured by the defendant Quinton Instrument Company, which was later acquired by the defendant American Home Products Corporation. The evidence submitted by the defendants demonstrated that the treadmill was reasonably safe for its intended use without a side handrail (see Aghabi v. Sebro, 256 A.D.2d 287, 288). Contrary to the plaintiff's contention, the defendants made a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by proffering sufficient evidence demonstrating the absence of any material issue of fact (see Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853; Porter v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 224 A.D.2d 674) . The bare conclusory assertions contained in the affidavit of the plaintiff's expert, which consisted primarily of speculative allegations with no independent factual basis, were insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact and defeat the defendants' separate motions for summary judgment (see Aghabi v. Sebro, supra).

We agree with the Supreme Court that the plaintiff assumed the known, apparent, and/or reasonably foreseeable risks associated with running on a treadmill (see Hopkins v. City of New York, 248 A.D.2d 441).

The plaintiff's remaining contentions are without merit.

KRAUSMAN, J.P., McGINITY, SCHMIDT and MASTRO, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Wallach v. American Home Products Corp.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Dec 23, 2002
300 A.D.2d 576 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)
Case details for

Wallach v. American Home Products Corp.

Case Details

Full title:DANIEL WALLACH, appellant, v. AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS CORPORATION d/b/a…

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

Date published: Dec 23, 2002

Citations

300 A.D.2d 576 (N.Y. App. Div. 2002)
751 N.Y.S.2d 875

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