Did Landlord Have Notice of Urine in Stairwell?

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after falling in a building stairwell. Landlord claimed that it wasn’t responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. There was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether landlord had constructive notice of a urine condition in its building’s stairwell that caused tenant’s accident. NYCHA’s supervisor of caretakers stated that the caretaker assigned to the building conducted a “walk down” of the building on the morning of the accident in accordance with the building’s routine cleaning schedule. But NYCHA submitted no deposition testimony or sworn statement of the caretaker himself stating that he followed the cleaning schedule that date or setting forth what he observed that day during the walk down. Tenant’s deposition testimony that he didn’t notice the condition when he used the stairs earlier on the morning of the accident didn’t definitively prove NYCHA’s lack of notice. In addition, three other tenants submitted sworn statements that urine in the stairwell was a recurring condition that NYCHA had failed to take reasonable measures to address, despite tenants’ repeated complaints.

Covington v. NYCHA: 2016 NY Slip Op 00609, 2016 WL 325554 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 1/28/16; Tom, JP, Sweeny, Gische, Kapnick, JJ)