Landlord Liable for Lead Poisoning

Facts: Tenants sued landlord for negligence when their child developed lead poisoning. New York City law requires landlord to remove lead-based paint from all areas of a building in which a child 6 years or younger lives. And where peeling paint is found in apartments built before Jan. 1, 1960, the law states that lead-based paint is presumed to exist. Failure to remove the lead paint is considered an immediate hazardous violation. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible because it was the new owner and it argued that the case should be dismissed. Court: Tenants win. New landlord bought the building three years before tenants moved in. The new landlord was also the prior managing agent of the building. So landlord had a reasonable amount of time to discover the condition and knew the age of the building. Landlord was also well aware that a child under 6 lived in the apartment, since it had installed window guards. Landlord had a duty to maintain the building in a reasonably safe condition and couldn't delegate that duty. Tenants had also complained a number of times to landlord because the Health Department found lead contamination in the apartment.

Nwaru v. Leeds Management Co.: NYLJ, p.30, col. 4 (5/8/95) (Sup. Ct. Bronx; Targum, J)