Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2026

Rojas v. 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.

Rojas v. 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York · Decided May 14, 2026
2026 NY Slip Op 03090
Rojas v. 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.

Opinion

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. - 2026 NY Slip Op 03090
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Law Reporting
Bureau
Thomas J.K. Smith, State Reporter

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.

2026 NY Slip Op 03090

May 14, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This decision is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Yokayra Rojas, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v

444-451 Orange Buildings Housing Developmental Fund Corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

Decided and Entered: May 14, 2026

Index No. 158841/19|Appeal No. 6611|Case No. 2025-02829|

Before: Webber, J.P., GonzáLez, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, Hagler, JJ.

Mitchell Dranow, Sea Cliff, for appellant.

Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Merlino, LLC, Mineola (Lisa I. Gokhulsingh of counsel), for respondent.

[*1]

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (David B. Cohen, J.), entered January 22, 2025, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, the motion denied, and the complaint reinstated, without costs.

Defendant failed to establish that it lacked constructive notice of the alleged oily condition, which plaintiff claims caused her to slip and fall down a staircase. Defendant's treasurer testified about the building's general cleaning schedule but admitted that she did not know when the staircase was last cleaned or inspected before the accident and defendant did not submit any records or cleaning logs (see Castillo-Sayre v Citarella Operating LLC, 195 AD3d 513, 513 [1st Dept 2021]). Accordingly, the burden never shifted to plaintiff to establish how long the slippery condition existed before the accident (id.).

Defendant also failed to "establish as a matter of law that plaintiff could only speculate about the cause of the accident" as plaintiff testified that the floor was slippery near the landing between the third and fourth floor where she slipped and that after she fell, she looked back up the stairs and saw "[l]ittle droplets of oil . . . going to the third floor" (McLean v Shanghai City Corp., 245 AD3d 440, 440 [1st Dept 2026]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: May 14, 2026

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Opinion

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. - 2026 NY Slip Op 03090
skip to main content

It appears you are using Adblock. Please disable Adblock to best experience our website.

Law Reporting
Bureau
Thomas J.K. Smith, State Reporter

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.

2026 NY Slip Op 03090

May 14, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This decision is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Yokayra Rojas, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v

444-451 Orange Buildings Housing Developmental Fund Corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

Decided and Entered: May 14, 2026

Index No. 158841/19|Appeal No. 6611|Case No. 2025-02829|

Before: Webber, J.P., GonzáLez, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, Hagler, JJ.

Mitchell Dranow, Sea Cliff, for appellant.

Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Merlino, LLC, Mineola (Lisa I. Gokhulsingh of counsel), for respondent.

[*1]

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (David B. Cohen, J.), entered January 22, 2025, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, the motion denied, and the complaint reinstated, without costs.

Defendant failed to establish that it lacked constructive notice of the alleged oily condition, which plaintiff claims caused her to slip and fall down a staircase. Defendant's treasurer testified about the building's general cleaning schedule but admitted that she did not know when the staircase was last cleaned or inspected before the accident and defendant did not submit any records or cleaning logs (see Castillo-Sayre v Citarella Operating LLC, 195 AD3d 513, 513 [1st Dept 2021]). Accordingly, the burden never shifted to plaintiff to establish how long the slippery condition existed before the accident (id.).

Defendant also failed to "establish as a matter of law that plaintiff could only speculate about the cause of the accident" as plaintiff testified that the floor was slippery near the landing between the third and fourth floor where she slipped and that after she fell, she looked back up the stairs and saw "[l]ittle droplets of oil . . . going to the third floor" (McLean v Shanghai City Corp., 245 AD3d 440, 440 [1st Dept 2026]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: May 14, 2026

Court Decisions

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About

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Quick Contact Info

17 Lodge Street

Albany, NY 12207

Phone: (518) 453-6900

Links to or from other sites do not signify endorsement or relationship with them.

Opinion

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. - 2026 NY Slip Op 03090
skip to main content

It appears you are using Adblock. Please disable Adblock to best experience our website.

Law Reporting
Bureau
Thomas J.K. Smith, State Reporter

Rojas v 444-451 Orange Bldgs. Hous. Dev. Fund Corp.

2026 NY Slip Op 03090

May 14, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This decision is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Yokayra Rojas, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v

444-451 Orange Buildings Housing Developmental Fund Corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

Decided and Entered: May 14, 2026

Index No. 158841/19|Appeal No. 6611|Case No. 2025-02829|

Before: Webber, J.P., GonzáLez, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, Hagler, JJ.

Mitchell Dranow, Sea Cliff, for appellant.

Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Merlino, LLC, Mineola (Lisa I. Gokhulsingh of counsel), for respondent.

[*1]

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (David B. Cohen, J.), entered January 22, 2025, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, the motion denied, and the complaint reinstated, without costs.

Defendant failed to establish that it lacked constructive notice of the alleged oily condition, which plaintiff claims caused her to slip and fall down a staircase. Defendant's treasurer testified about the building's general cleaning schedule but admitted that she did not know when the staircase was last cleaned or inspected before the accident and defendant did not submit any records or cleaning logs (see Castillo-Sayre v Citarella Operating LLC, 195 AD3d 513, 513 [1st Dept 2021]). Accordingly, the burden never shifted to plaintiff to establish how long the slippery condition existed before the accident (id.).

Defendant also failed to "establish as a matter of law that plaintiff could only speculate about the cause of the accident" as plaintiff testified that the floor was slippery near the landing between the third and fourth floor where she slipped and that after she fell, she looked back up the stairs and saw "[l]ittle droplets of oil . . . going to the third floor" (McLean v Shanghai City Corp., 245 AD3d 440, 440 [1st Dept 2026]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: May 14, 2026

Court Decisions

All Court Decisions Official Reports Service Bound Volumes Decision Search

Resources

RSS Feeds Style Manual Citation Tools Opinion Formatting & Privacy Guidelines Opinion Selection Criteria Legal Research Portal Site Index

About

About the Law Reporting Bureau About our Operations Contact Us Twitter

Quick Contact Info

17 Lodge Street

Albany, NY 12207

Phone: (518) 453-6900

Links to or from other sites do not signify endorsement or relationship with them.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.