Landlord Had No Notice of Water in Hallway

April 1, 2003

LVT Number: 16439

Tenant stepped out of the elevator on the seventh floor of her apartment building and slipped on water in the hallway. She sued landlord for negligence. There was a toilet in the hallway from which water was seeping. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible and that it had not had notice of water in the hallway. Landlord had hired a plumber to replace old toilets with new low-flush toilets, and the plumber had left an old toilet in the hallway while doing the work. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won.

Tenant stepped out of the elevator on the seventh floor of her apartment building and slipped on water in the hallway. She sued landlord for negligence. There was a toilet in the hallway from which water was seeping. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible and that it had not had notice of water in the hallway. Landlord had hired a plumber to replace old toilets with new low-flush toilets, and the plumber had left an old toilet in the hallway while doing the work. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord didn't control how the plumber, an independent contractor, did his work. Landlord didn't create the condition and didn't have notice of it before tenant's injury.

Metling v. Punia & Marx, Inc.: NYLJ, 3/10/03, p. 30, col. 1 (App. Div.2 Dept.; Feuerstein, JP, Krausman, McGinity, Mastro, JJ)

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