Coulton v. City of New York

In Coulton v. City of New York, 29 AD3d 301 (1st Dept 2006), plaintiff slipped and fell on the sidewalk in front of a house being renovated by a contractor who built a plywood cover over the house which narrowed the width of the sidewalk. The First Department denied the defendant contractor's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the contractor had "a duty not to create an unsafe condition when it narrowed the sidewalk by erecting the plywood cover around the building" being renovated "to the extent it may have increased the risk that pedestrians might trip" on the broken and uneven sidewalk. (Id., at 302.)