Kahana Feld is pleased to announce that partner Dominic Donato recently received a pre-answer motion on a trip and fall case. The matter involved a claimant who tripped and fell on a defective sidewalk condition and alleged that the accident was caused, in part, by improper lighting. Our client performed a limited scope of work installing lighting for a scaffold/sidewalk bridge in Queens several years ago. Our client assumed no responsibility for the sidewalk or for maintaining the sidewalk bridge lighting after installation.

Donato was able to successfully extricate the client on a pre-answer motion to dismiss by arguing that our client did not owe a duty to the plaintiff as a third-party, and that no duty was created in the performance of its work by launching an instrument of harm pursuant to the Espinal doctrine.