▶ Video explainer coming soon
The appeals court agreed with the trial court. It ruled that Tamrazyan did not prove the owner knew or should have known about the broken sidewalk. His expert engineer's statement was called speculative and offered legal conclusions instead of solid facts. The court also said a contractor like Yatziv is not automatically liable to an injured person just because it had a contract with the owner. There was still a factual question about whether Yatziv's demolition work created or worsened the dangerous condition. Because Tamrazyan did not meet his burden of proof, the court denied his request for automatic judgment. The case was allowed to continue toward a full trial.
Levon Tamrazyan tripped and fell on a broken sidewalk next to a building owned by 379 Ocean Parkway, LLC. Yatziv Corp. was the general contractor overseeing demolition work at the property. Tamrazyan sued the owner and Yatziv for his injuries. Before trial, he asked the court to rule in his favor automatically, without a full trial. This request is called summary judgment. He wanted the court to find both the owner and Yatziv liable, and to throw out their defense that he may have contributed to his own accident. The trial court said no. Tamrazyan appealed that decision to a higher court.
New York law says property owners must keep sidewalks next to their buildings reasonably safe. But this rule does not make owners automatically responsible every time someone gets hurt. The injured person must show the owner knew, or should have known, about the broken sidewalk. The question here was whether Tamrazyan had proven enough evidence about notice and about the contractor's role to win his case without a trial.
This ruling shows that in sidewalk injury cases, proving notice of a defect is critical. A vague expert opinion is not enough. It also shows contractors are not automatically liable just because they had a contract for work at the property. Courts look closely at whether the contractor's actions actually caused or increased the danger.
Talk to a licensed personal injury lawyer in New York.