Did Landlord's Failure to Fix Shower Rod Bracket Cause Tenant's Slip and Fall?

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after he slipped and fell while stepping out of a combined bathtub/shower in his apartment after taking a shower. Tenant claimed that the wet and slippery condition of the floor was the result of landlord's failure to repair the brackets that held the shower curtain rod. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without trial.

Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. The lower court incorrectly found that any conclusion that tenant slipped and fell because of water accumulation would be based on speculation. And even if the water accumulation was an open and obvious condition, this didn't eliminate landlord's duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. There were issues of fact as to whether there was a hazardous condition caused by the absence of the shower curtain resulting from landlord's negligent failure to make timely repairs of the brackets that held it up. There also was an issue of comparative fault that the court must determine.

Matos v. Azure Holdings II, LP: Index No. 11055, 20635/15E, 2020 NY Slip Op 01441 (App. Div. 1 Dept; 3/3/20; Acosta, PJ, Kapnick, Moulton, Gonzalez, JJ)