Defective Garage Door

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was injured in the apartment complex garage. Tenant had fallen when she caught her foot in a rope she had tied to the handle of the garage door to allow her to close it. Tenant had tied the rope to the door because the door was defective and didn't close properly. Landlord knew about the defective door for at least two years and hadn't fixed it. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible for tenant's injuries and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled for tenant and reopened the case. Landlord claimed that tenant caused her own injury by using the rope. Tenant claimed that she had to use the rope because landlord failed to fix the door, so it wasn't her fault. Whether landlord caused tenant's injury was a question of fact that required a trial.

Spathos v. Gramatan Mgmt.: NYLJ, 1/7/04, p. 29, col. 2 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Santucci, JP, Miller, McGinity, Schmidt, JJ)