In Susan Moss, et al. v. Westside Supermarket LLC doing business as Westside Market NYC, according to the plaintiff, Susan Moss (“plaintiff” or Moss”), Westside Market, the defendant, negligently failed to provide an unobstructed means of ingress and egress within a supermarket aisle. That is, a display case’s unobservable legs protruded into the aisle, causing Ms. Moss to plunge and fall. This "defective, hidden, trap-like condition" posed a major "tripping hazard." Moreover, Moss claimed there was no warning of the danger. At the conclusion of discovery, Westside Market moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The lower court denied defendant’s motion and defendant appealed.

Having patronized the Westside Market on 25 occasions prior to the accident, Moss testified that she was never able to observe any legs undergirding the display case. The Appellate Division, First Department found that the defendant’s own surveillance footage reinforced the plaintiff’s assertion that the structure’s legs were well-nigh invisible to the naked eye. Moreover, the photographic image clearly showed how Ms. Moss’s foot became entangled in one of the unseeable legs of the display case.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division found that no person making reasonable use of his or her senses could have avoided such an accident and unanimously affirmed the lower court’s decision.