In New York, property owners don't have to clear snow or ice while a storm is actively happening. But once the storm ends, the clock starts — generally about 4 hours for residential buildings, and essentially right away for commercial ones. Defendants lean on this "storm in progress" rule constantly, but it's far from an automatic win, and there are real ways to challenge it.
If you slipped on ice in the Bronx or anywhere else in New York City this past winter, chances are good that the property owner's insurance company has already raised the storm in progress defense. It sounds airtight. It usually isn't.
What the Storm in Progress Rule Actually Says
New York courts have long held that a property owner isn't negligent for failing to clear snow or ice while precipitation is still falling. The logic makes sense: nobody can keep a walkway perfectly clear during an active blizzard.
But that protection has limits. Once the storm stops, the owner has a reasonable window to act — and "reasonable" doesn't mean indefinite. Courts generally expect:
- Residential property owners to clear walkways within about 4 hours of a storm ending
- Commercial property owners to act essentially immediately once conditions allow
How Courts Decide When a Storm Has "Ended"
This is where a lot of these cases actually get won or lost. Weather doesn't always cooperate with tidy legal deadlines, and courts look closely at things like:
- Official weather station data showing precipitation start and stop times
- Whether there was a lull long enough that the owner should have acted
- Temperature swings that caused refreezing after an initial melt
A defendant claiming "storm in progress" has to prove there actually was one happening at the time of the fall — and that's a factual question, not an automatic shield.
Exceptions That Can Defeat the Defense
The storm in progress rule doesn't cover every icy fall. A few common exceptions come up again and again:
- Pre-existing ice. If ice was already there before the storm began, and it contributed to the fall, the defense doesn't apply cleanly.
- Recurring conditions. If the same spot ices over repeatedly due to poor drainage or a broken gutter, courts may find the owner had notice of an ongoing hazard.
- Poor timing arguments. If the "storm" had actually ended hours earlier than the defendant claims, maintenance logs and inspection schedules can undercut the defense entirely.
A Real Example: Braxton v. Brown
Attorney Eric J. Gottfried won a notable Appellate Division, Second Department decision in Braxton v. Brown (2024), representing a plaintiff who had been denied her day in court after a lower court granted the property owner summary judgment based on a storm in progress argument. The Appellate Division reversed that ruling, sending the case back for trial. It's a good reminder that a defendant simply asserting the defense isn't the end of the story — the facts still have to hold up.
Don't Wait to Look Into It
New York gives you three years from the date of a fall to bring a personal injury claim, but evidence like weather records and maintenance logs gets harder to obtain the longer you wait. If you were hurt in a winter fall anywhere in NYC or the Bronx, it's worth having someone look at the timeline before that evidence disappears.
For more on how these cases work, visit our pages on Snow and Ice Accidents and Premises Liability.
Call Before the Clock Runs Out
If you slipped and fell on snow or ice this winter, don't assume the storm in progress defense means you're out of options. Call Gottfried Law Group at 888-LAW-FIRM for a free consultation, and let us take a close look at what really happened.
