RANDALL T. ENG
Affirmed.
Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers LLP, New York, N.Y. (Thomas G. Darmody and Bradley Levien of counsel), for appellant. Novo Law Firm, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Ilya Novofastovsky of counsel), for respondent.
RANDALL T. ENG, P.J., JEFFREY A. COHEN, SYLVIA O. HINDS–RADIX, and HECTOR D. LaSALLE, JJ.
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendant appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Graham, J.), dated July 8, 2013, as denied its cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
The plaintiff allegedly sustained personal injuries when, during a power outage, she fell from an allegedly defective exterior staircase of a building owned by the defendant. The defendant cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and the Supreme Court denied the cross motion.
A landowner has a duty to maintain his or her premises in a reasonably safe manner ( see Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233, 386 N.Y.S.2d 564, 352 N.E.2d 868). “In order for a landowner to be liable in tort to a plaintiff who is injured as a result of an allegedly defective condition upon property, it must be established that a defective condition existed and that the landowner affirmatively created the condition or had actual or constructive notice of its existence” ( Lezama v. 34–15 Parsons Blvd, LLC, 16 A.D.3d 560, 792 N.Y.S.2d 123; see Friedman v. 1753 Realty Co., 117 A.D.3d 781, 986 N.Y.S.2d 175).
Here, the defendant initially contends that the subject staircase was not in a defective condition. However, it failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on that issue, as, in support of its cross motion, it submitted conflicting evidence as to whether the staircase was in a defective condition ( see Hecht v. Saccoccio, 120 A.D.3d 474, 989 N.Y.S.2d 913; Sahni v. Kitridge Realty Co., Inc., 114 A.D.3d 837, 838, 980 N.Y.S.2d 787). In the alternative, the defendant argues that if the subject staircase was defective, it did not create the defect or have actual or constructive notice of it. However, it failed to meet its prima facie burden on this issue, as it submitted conflicting evidence as to whether it had constructive notice of the alleged defect ( see Moore v. Great Atl. & Pac. Tea Co., Inc., 117 A.D.3d 695, 985 N.Y.S.2d 605; Grizzell v. JQ Assoc., LLC, 110 A.D.3d 762, 973 N.Y.S.2d 268; Gyokchyan v. City of New York, 106 A.D.3d 780, 965 N.Y.S.2d 521; Bautista v. Kysor/Warren, 96 A.D.3d 982, 947 N.Y.S.2d 162).
The defendant's remaining contentions are without merit.
As the defendant failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, we need not consider the sufficiency of the plaintiff's opposition papers ( see Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853, 487 N.Y.S.2d 316, 476 N.E.2d 642). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied the defendant's cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.