MEMORANDUM.
The order of the Appellate Division, insofar as appealed from, should be reversed, with costs, the Oliver defendants' motion for summary judgment granted, the complaint in action No. 1 and the amended complaint in action No. 2 dismissed against them, and the certified question answered in the negative.
Martino and Rost commenced separate actions against various defendants including the Olivers alleging, as relevant here, claims for a violation of the Dram Shop Act (General Obligations Law § 11-101) and common-law negligence. Essentially, Martino and Rost allege in their respective complaints that the Olivers served Stolzman an unreasonable amount of alcohol rendering him intoxicated and failed to control Stolzman while he was on their property. Martino and Rost also allege that the Olivers had a duty to warn Stolzman that, as he exited their driveway, vehicles parked on the road adjacent to the driveway may obstruct the view.
The Olivers filed one motion as to both actions, seeking dismissal of the Dram Shop Act claims and summary judgment as to the common-law negligence claims. Supreme Court denied the Olivers' motion in its entirety. The Olivers appealed the order, and the parties agreed to consolidate the appeals and have them perfected in one record.
The Appellate Division, with two Justices dissenting in part, modified the order by granting the Olivers' motion to dismiss the Dram Shop Act claims in both actions, and as so modified, affirmed (see Martino v Stolzman, 74 A.D.3d 1764, 1765 [4th Dept 2010]). In affirming Supreme Court's denial of the Olivers' motion for summary judgment as to the common-law negligence claims, the majority concluded that "there is an issue of fact whether the Olivers knew or should have known that Stolzman left the party in a dangerous state of intoxication" (id. at 1766). The majority also opined that "[t]he Olivers
The dissenting Justices would have granted the Olivers' motion for summary judgment as to the common-law negligence claims (see id.). The dissenters concluded that the Olivers had no duty to prevent Stolzman "from leaving their house or to assist him in pulling out of their driveway in his vehicle" (id.).
The same panel of the Appellate Division granted the Olivers' motion for leave to appeal to this Court (see Martino v Stolzman, 79 A.D.3d 1832 [4th Dept 2010]), and certified this question: "Was the order of this Court entered June 11, 2010 properly made?" We now reverse and answer the certified question in the negative.
It has long been the rule in New York that "[l]andowners in general have a duty to act in a reasonable manner to prevent harm to those on their property" (D'Amico v Christie, 71 N.Y.2d 76, 85 [1987]). "In particular, they have a duty to control the conduct of third persons on their premises when they have the opportunity to control such persons" (id.). Here, the Olivers were no longer in a position to control Stolzman when he entered his vehicle and drove away. Furthermore, we agree with the dissenting Justices at the Appellate Division that "requiring social hosts to prevent intoxicated guests from leaving their property would inappropriately expand the concept of duty" (Martino, 74 AD3d at 1767).
We also conclude that the Olivers had no duty to assist Stolzman as he pulled out of their driveway, or otherwise warn him that vehicles parked along the road next to the driveway may obstruct the view when exiting. Of course, "a landowner's duty to warn of a latent, dangerous condition on his property is a natural counterpart to his duty to maintain his property in a reasonably safe condition" (Galindo v Town of Clarkstown, 2 N.Y.3d 633, 636 [2004]). In this case, the vehicles parked adjacent to the Olivers' driveway did not create a latent or dangerous condition on the Olivers' property. That the Olivers may have been aware of this potential obstruction did not create a duty on their part to assist or warn Stolzman (see Pulka v Edelman, 40 N.Y.2d 781, 785 [1976], rearg denied 41 N.Y.2d 901 [1977] ["(f)oreseeability should not be confused with duty"]).
Order, insofar as appealed from, reversed, etc.