Justice David Schmidt
Tenant Rotondo was injured while exiting an elevator in her apartment complex owned by Luna Park Housing (LPH) and managed by Douglas Elliman Property Management. Al-an Elevator Maintenance, LPH and Elliman moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint contending there was no evidence defendants created or had actual or constructive notice of a defect in the elevator, and that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur was inapplicable. The court noted Al-an repaired the elevator 21 times in eight months before the subject accident, including the day before the accident. It found triable issues of fact existed regarding if defendants had actual or constructive notice of the elevator’s defect. Also, the court stated the many service tickets for the elevator indicated that LPH and Elliman had some level of awareness the elevator had persistent condition requiring service. It further found Rotondo’s complaint against Al-an withstood summary dismissal as she established a prima facie case of negligence against Al-an under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Rotondo’s expert’s testimony raised an inference that the accident arose from Al-an’s negligence in servicing the elevator. Thus, defendants’ motion for summary judgment was denied.
