MATTHEWS v. VLAD RESTORATION

Plaintiff, on her cell phone while hurrying across a scaffold to catch a bus, tripped on a lower horizontal brace and suffered injury. Defendants met their prima facie burden by showing the scaffold was open and obvious as a matter of law, and not inherently dangerous ( Burke v Canyon Rd. Rest., 60 AD3d 558; see also Connor v Taylor Rental Ctr., 278 AD2d 270; Plessias v Scalia Home for Funerals, 271 AD2d 423). Photographs taken by plaintiff after the accident depict two bright blue horizontal bars, clearly presenting a barrier to passersby. In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact. Her expert's affidavit failed to show inherent danger; the unsubstantiated claim that the scaffold did not comply with industry custom and practice does not create an issue of fact ( see Jones v City of New York, 32 AD3d 706).