8/16/18 Jose A. Rivas v. Diagonal Realty LLC & SS Bridging & Scaffolding Inc.

Plaintiff commenced a lawsuit against our client, SS Bridging & Scaffolding Inc. Plaintiff alleged personal injuries from a trip and fall on a sidewalk flag in Manhattan. Plaintiff also sued the landlord, Diagonal Realty. Plaintiff alleged that the sidewalk flag was raised due to the presence of a sidewalk shed. Discovery revealed that the sidewalk flag was raised before and after the sidewalk shed was erected and subsequently removed. In preparation for our motion for summary judgment, we obtained the opinion of a professional engineer who opined that the sidewalk flag was raised due to the presence of tree roots and that the compressive load of the sidewalk shed was not sufficient to damage the concrete as alleged by plaintiff.

At the close of discovery, James Walsh moved for Summary Judgment dismissing all claims and cross claims against SS Bridging & Scaffolding Inc. After oral argument, Judge Debra Silber granted our motion in the entirety and dismissed all claims as against our client finding that SS Bridging & Scaffolding Inc. did not owe any duty to the plaintiff and that SS Bridging & Scaffolding Inc. did not launch a force or instrumentality of harm.