McAuley v. United Cigar Stores Co. of America, Inc.

Headnote

Negligence — accumulation of snow and ice in doorway of store — when shopkeeper not chargeable with negligence.

McAuley v. United Cigar Stores Co. of America, Inc., 204 App. Div. 356 , affirmed.

Appeal from a judgment, entered February 14, 1923, upon an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department reversing a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a verdict and directing a dismissal of the complaint. The action was brought to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the respondent in having fallen at the entrance to one of appellant’s stores as he was leaving the same after making a purchase therein, by reason of an accumulation of snow and ice at such entrance. According to the

records of the weather bureau, it had been snowing all day and up until ten-fifty p. m. and continued sleeting thereafter, with a high wind blowing all the time. The accident happened at about eleven p. m., at which time there was an accumulation of snow and ice in front of the defendant’s store, presenting an uneven, hummocky surface, made so by the feet of the persons passing in and out of the store. The Appellate Division held that defendant was not chargeable with negligence in failing to keep the doorway clear of snow under such circumstances.