In Grove v. Jimbo’s Hamburger Place, et al, Index No. 150763/2021, the plaintiff claimed that she was injured when she tripped and fell over a mudsill i.e. a wooden block, located under a pole supporting scaffolding erected on the sidewalk. We moved for summary judgment on behalf of our client, Arsenal Scaffold, seeking dismissal of all claims and crossclaims asserted, arguing that the mudsill was an open and obvious condition and not inherently dangerous as a matter of law. In support of our motion, we argued that the scaffolding and mudsills were installed by Arsenal Scaffold according to standard design plans approved by the New York City Department of Buildings and cited the deposition testimony of the parties that established that there were no complaints or defective conditions regarding the scaffolding. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that issues of fact exist as to the lighting conditions under the scaffolding that preclude summary judgment and cited the plaintiff’s deposition testimony that it was a dark and overcast day. Judge Lynn R. Kotler of the Supreme Court, New York County granted the motion for summary judgment finding that the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition and noted that even if there were an issue of fact as to whether the site was adequately illuminated, as we argued in support of our motion, the contract between Arsenal and the general contractor, as well as the applicable provisions of the New York City Building Code, establish that Arsenal Scaffold was not responsible for maintaining the lighting installed on the scaffold.
