Alexander v Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul of N.Y.
2009 NY Slip Op 01162 [59 AD3d 238]
February 17, 2009
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, April 1, 2009


Clarissa Alexander, Respondent,
v
The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul of New York, Also Known as The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul, Defendant, and The College of Mount Saint Vincent, Appellant.

[*1] Law Offices of Thomas K. Moore, New York (Carol R. Finocchio and Lawrence B. Goodman of counsel), for appellant.

Burns & Harris, New York (Brett E. Rubin of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Barry Salman, J.), entered May 20, 2008, which denied defendant College of Mount Saint Vincent's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, the motion granted and the complaint dismissed.

Even crediting the narrative plaintiff provided at her deposition regarding how she fell from her elevated bed, nothing in the record before us establishes that plaintiff's fall was caused by any negligence on the part of defendant College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV). Plaintiff's evidence is insufficient to create a question of fact as to either causation or negligence on the part of CMSV. Nothing in plaintiff's evidence established why she lost her footing. Her characterization of the bed as "rickety" and her vague statement, "I think the bed kind of lifted up a little before I fell," were insufficient to establish that defendant had supplied her with a dangerous or defective bed; nor does the lack of a ladder to the elevated bed establish a defect [*2]since there were bars situated on the headboard for the purpose of access. Summary judgment should therefore have been granted in favor of CMSV. Concur—Saxe, J.P., Friedman, Nardelli, Sweeny and DeGrasse, JJ.