Opinion
October 23, 1990
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Francis Pecora, J.).
A jury verdict in favor of plaintiff will not be set aside as against the weight of the evidence unless the jury could not have reached its conclusion upon any fair interpretation of the evidence (Cornier v. Spagna, 101 A.D.2d 141, 149). The jury could have reasonably concluded that defendants' negligence in allowing an open, unsecured hole to exist in the storage room was a substantial and proximate cause of the accident. Plaintiffs testified that the hole was covered by a "headboard", instead of a steel plate, as defendants believed to be the case. While there was conflicting testimony as to what was covering the hole and the length of time that the condition existed, the jury resolved the conflicts in favor of plaintiffs and the record presents no reason to disturb its verdict (Picciallo v. Norchi, 147 A.D.2d 540). We decline to disturb the jury's assessment of damages which is not so excessive or inadequate as to shock the conscience of the court (Graham v. Murphy, 135 A.D.2d 326, 330). We have considered defendants' remaining claims and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Kupferman, J.P., Asch, Smith and Rubin, JJ.