Did Slippery Lobby Condition Cause Tenant Injury?

December 1, 2008

LVT Number: #20873

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after he slipped and fell in the building lobby. 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 against landlord. Landlord appealed and lost. Tenant presented proof in pretrial questioning that rain had been falling for an hour and a half before he slipped and fell, and that other persons entering the building were carrying, and sometimes closing, umbrellas in view of the doormen for at least 40 minutes before his accident.

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after he slipped and fell in the building lobby. 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 against landlord. Landlord appealed and lost. Tenant presented proof in pretrial questioning that rain had been falling for an hour and a half before he slipped and fell, and that other persons entering the building were carrying, and sometimes closing, umbrellas in view of the doormen for at least 40 minutes before his accident. This raised a question of fact as to whether landlord had actual or constructive notice of a dangerously wet and slippery condition in the building lobby.

Spinner v. 1725 York Owners Corp.: NYLJ, 11/20/08, p. 34, col. 5 (App. Div.2 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Nardelli, Moskowitz, Renwick, Freedman, JJ)

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