Landlord May Be Liable for Injury Caused by Protruding Grate Cover

Regular visitor to landlord’s building sued landlord for negligence. She said that a protruding metal grate covering a heater on a stairwell landing in landlord’s building caught the back of her pants and caused her to fall down the stairs. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case. It claimed that the visitor had seen the grate before and knew that the building had an elevator. So any danger was open and obvious and could have been avoided. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. The fact that the visitor saw the protruding metal on frequent prior visits to the building didn’t prove that the claimed danger was open and obvious. For one thing, there was no proof as to how far the metal stuck out from the heater. In addition, although an open and obvious danger negates landlord’s duty to warn, landlord still had a duty to maintain the building in a safe condition. Whether the stairwell was in a reasonably safe condition was a question of fact that required a trial.

Francis v. 107-145 West 135th Street Associates, LP: NYLJ, 2/26/10, p. 35, col. 2 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Andrias, JP, Saxe, Sweeny, Freedman, Romn, JJ)