Smalley v. Bemben
Cases that cite this one
31 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.
- Rodriguez v. County of Westchester (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2016)
- OWENS, KIMBERLY v. MIESCH, BARR (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Owens v. Miesch (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Owens v. Miesch (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- DAVISON, ERIN C. v. CITY OF BUFFALO (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2012)
- Davison v. City of Buffalo (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2012)
- Davison v. City of Buffalo (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2012)
- Cruz v. Heights Broadway, LLC (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2023)
- Gomez v. Karyes Realty Corp. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2022)
- Gomez v. Karyes Realty Corp. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2022)
- Franklin v. Learn (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2021)
- Celestin v. 40 Empire Blvd., Inc. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2019)
- Gilbert v. City of Rye (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2019)
- Aja v. Richter (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2019)
- Clauss v. Bank of America, N.A. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2017)
- CAPRETTO, SUSAN v. CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2015)
- Tepeu v. Nabrizny (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2015)
- Capretto v. City of Buffalo (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2015)
- Capretto v. City of Buffalo (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2015)
- Roger v. Homestead Renovations, LLC (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- Palka v. Village of Ossining (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2014)
- PANZICA, RUTH ANN v. FANTAUZZI, MICHAEL R. (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
- David v. Chong Sun Lee (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
- David v. Chong Sun Lee (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
- Panzica v. Fantauzzi (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2013)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
OPINION OF THE COURT
Memorandum.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs.
Unless a statute or ordinance “clearly imposes liability upon” an abutting landowner, only a municipality may be held liable for the negligent failure to remove snow and ice from a public sidewalk (Roark v Hunting, 24 NY2d 470, 475 [1969] [emphasis added]; Jacobs v Pasquale, 281 AD2d 891, 892 [4th Dept 2001]). In 1997, the City of Buffalo amended section 413-50 (A) of its City Code to impose two duties on landowners: (1) removing snow and ice on abutting sidewalks before 9:00 a.m. and (2) making, maintaining and repairing abutting sidewalks. The plain language of section 413-50 (A) only imposes liability with respect to the second duty. While the legislative history of the 1997 amendment may also be read as indicating that the amendment was intended to impose liability on landowners for failing to remove snow and ice from city sidewalks abutting their property (see Montes v City of Buffalo, 295 AD2d 896, 897 [4th Dept 2002], lv denied 99 NY2d 504 [2002]), the terms of the Code do not clearly subject landowners to such liability.
Chief Judge Lippman and Judges Ciparick, Graffeo, Read, Smith, Pigott and Jones concur.
On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.11), order affirmed, with costs, in a memorandum.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.