Kramer v. SBR & C

In Kramer v. SBR & C (62 A.D.3d 667 [2d Dept. 2009]), the plaintiff allegedly slipped on strawberries which were present on the dance floor of a banquet hall during an event. A food table had been placed on the dance floor, and then moved by defendant's employees approximately 45 minutes prior to her fall. In dismissing the complaint, the Court held: "Under the circumstances of this case, the defendants' submissions, consisting principally of the deposition testimony of the injured plaintiff and her husband, were sufficient to establish, prima facie, that the defendants did not create the alleged dangerous condition and did not have notice, actual or constructive, of its existence. The plaintiffs' theory was that the strawberries which allegedly caused the accident fell to the dance floor from the food table and remained there for at least the 45-minute period between the time the defendants' employee removed the table and the time the injured plaintiff fell. However, the deposition testimony submitted by the defendants in support of their motion established that the injured plaintiff did not see any strawberries on the floor prior to her fall, that her husband, who had taken food from the table and had later watched the employee remove the table from the dance floor, did not see any strawberries on the floor prior to the accident and did not see any food fall from the table as it was being removed, and that neither the injured plaintiff nor her husband was aware of anyone else at the party who saw any strawberries fall from the food table, or ever saw or complained of strawberries on the floor prior to the accident." (Id at 669.)