Landlord May Be Responsible for Attack by Tenant's Pit Bull

A child's parents sued tenant, the child's aunt, as well as landlord after tenant's pit bull terrier attacked the child in tenant's apartment. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. To prove landlord was responsible, the parents had to prove that landlord had notice that tenant kept the dog in the apartment, that landlord knew or should have known that the dog had vicious tendencies, and that landlord had sufficient control of the premises to allow landlord to remove or confine the dog. A trial was needed because statements made by neighbors and the building super in pretrial questioning raised questions as to whether landlord knew about the dog and the possibility that it was vicious.

McKnight v. ATA Housing Corp.: NYLJ, 4/20/12, p. 30, col. 2 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Rivera, JP, Chambers, Austin, Roman, JJ)