Building Stairs Lacked Nonskid Surface

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after tenant slipped and fell on his building's staircase. Tenant claimed that there was water on the stairs between the first- and second-floor landings, but that he didn't see it until after he fell. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord claimed that it had no notice of any water condition on the staircase. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and lost. Pretrial questioning showed that landlord didn't have notice of any water condition. But tenant had submitted an engineer's report that stated that the marble stairs were unsafe. They were rounded and chipped and didn't have a nonskid surface, which was required by the Building Code. This report raised a question as to whether landlord was responsible for tenant's injuries. A trial was needed.

Sarmiento v. C&E Associates: NYLJ, 6/1/07, p. 29, col. 6 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Nardelli, Buckley, Gonzalez, Sweeny, JJ)