The case of Argueta v. 3251 Third Ave. LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 50102(U), Supreme Court, Bronx County, addressed the issue of a defendant’s lack of constructive notice in a ceiling collapse case. This case stresses the importance for owners to conduct regular property inspections and keep inspection and maintenance records.

In this case, the plaintiff sought damages for injuries she allegedly sustained when a ceiling tile fell and struck her in the ladies' room. The plaintiff alleged, among other things, that the defendants were negligent in causing a dangerous condition. The defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that it did not have notice of a problem with the ceiling.

In addressing the notice defense, the court stated: “[t]o meet its initial burden on the issue of lack of constructive notice, the defendant must ‘offer some evidence as to when the area in question was last inspected relative to the [accident]’” (citing Birnbaum v New York Racing Assn., Inc., 57 AD3d 598, 598 [2d Dep’t 2008]).

The Argueta court found that the defendant could not meet its burden, as it did not have any maintenance records for two years before the accident. Moreover, the defendants failed to proffer evidence from someone with personal knowledge as to when the ceiling was last inspected. As such, the court held that defendant failed to establish that it did not have constructive notice of the allegedly dangerous condition and the motion for summary judgment was denied.

Here, the failure to keep such inspection and maintenance records resulted in the loss of a notice defense for the defendant.