Did Apartment Contain Lead-Based Paint That Sickened Child?
LVT Number: #29919
Tenant sued landlord NYCHA for negligence after her child was diagnosed with lead poisoning. The court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. The rebuttable presumption of Local Law 1 of 1982 didn't apply because the building wasn't constructed before Jan. 1, 1960, when New York City banned the use of lead paint. But NYCHA's report that found no actionable level of lead-based paint in tenant's apartment was insufficient to establish NYCHA's entitlement to dismissal without a trial to determine whether the apartment contained a hazardous level of lead-based paint. The child's elevated blood lead level suggested that a hazardous condition may have existed in the apartment during the relevant period, and housing is a prime source of lead poisoning.
A.L. v. NYCHA: Index No. 7399-305654/2011, 2019 NY Slip Op 00702 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 1/31/19; Moulton, J)