Criscenti v Verizon

Annotate this Case
Criscenti v Verizon 2012 NY Slip Op 06739 Decided on October 9, 2012 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law ยง 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on October 9, 2012
Tom, J.P., Mazzarelli, Catterson, Renwick, DeGrasse, JJ.
104729/06 8221 103728/07 -3843

[*1]8220-Gene Ann Criscenti, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v

Verizon, et al., Defendants-Appellants, Carson Industries, LLP, Defendant.



Gene Ann Criscenti, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v

Communications Construction Group, LLC, et al., Defendants, JEK Communications, Inc., Defendant-Appellant.




Ledy-Gurren, Bass & Siff, L.L.P., New York (Deborah Bass of
counsel), for Verizon New York Inc., Verizon Services Corp.,
Telesector Resources Group, Inc., and Verizon New York, Inc.,
appellants.
Purcell & Ingrao, P.C., Mineola (Terrance Ingrao of counsel),
for Marble Heights of Westchester Inc., appellant.
McMahon, Martine & Gallagher, LLP, Brooklyn (Andrew D.
Showers of counsel), for JFK Communications, Inc., appellant.
Gary E. Rosenberg, P.C., Forest Hills, for respondent.

Orders, Supreme Court, New York County (Milton A. Tingling, J.), entered April 28, 2011 and August 3, 2011, which, to the extent appealed from, denied defendants JEK Communications, Inc.'s, Marble Heights of Westchester's, Verizon, Verizon Services Corp., Inc., Telesector Resources Group, Inc., and Verizon New York, Inc.'s respective motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against them, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motions granted. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of said [*2]defendants dismissing the complaint as against them.

Plaintiff was injured when she slipped and fell on the cover of a Verizon utility box located in a common-area lawn in her condominium complex. Without a showing of notice to defendants, the fact that the utility box cover was slippery when wet does not raise an issue of fact as to negligence (see Contreras v Zabar's, 293 AD2d 362 [1st Dept 2002]). Nor do plaintiff's expert opinions raise an issue of fact, since they are unsupported either by the record or by specific, applicable safety standards (see id.).

Plaintiffs strict products liability claim fares no better. The record demonstrates conclusively that defendants did not manufacture, sell or distribute the utility box (see Reeps v BMW of N. Am., LLC, 94 AD3d 475, 476 [1st Dept 2012]).
M-3843 - Criscenti v Verizon et al.

Motion to strike footnote denied.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: OCTOBER 9, 2012

CLERK

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.