Appeals Court Finds Questions of Fact Concerning Tenant's Slip-and-Fall in Vestibule

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell on water in the vestibule between the outer and inner entrance doors of her apartment building as she entered the building. The accident occurred on Dec. 18, 2016, at 1 a.m., and it had been snowing since the day before. The court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case without trial.

Tenant appealed and won in part. In this case, landlord failed to show that it lacked actual or constructive notice of the hazardous condition caused by the wet and slippery floor when tenant fell. Landlord submitted no proof as to when it last inspected the premises on the day of the accident. But evidence showed that the building super was aware of the hazardous condition and tried to address it with a mat and caution sign. Tenant also raised questions of fact as to whether these precautions were reasonable under the circumstances. She claimed that her accident was caused by the super's placement of an unreasonably short anti-slip floor mat on known wet, glossy tiles on a newly laid floor. The appeals court denied landlord's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Rodriguez v. KWIK Realty, LLC: Index No. 160267-17, App. No. 201, Case No. 2022-02482, 2023 NY Slip Op 02471 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/9/23; Renwick, APJ, Kapnick, Gesmer, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, JJ)