Landlord May Be Responsible for Nonstructural Floor Defect

Suffolk County tenant sued landlord after he was injured in landlord's building due to a defect in the interior flooring. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that it was an out-of-possession landlord that had no duty to repair the nonstructural floor condition. The court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case.

Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Tenant now argued that his lease required landlord to repair damage to the floor regardless of whether it was structural in nature. Although tenant raised this issue for the first time on appeal, the court considered it because it presented a pure question of law appearing on the face of the record. The lease unambiguously required landlord to "make all structural, exterior walls, floor and roof repairs and replacements to tenant's building." So, landlord's duty to repair the floor wasn't limited to floor conditions that were structural in nature. Landlord's request to dismiss the case without trial was now denied and the case reopened.

Weidner v. Basser-Kaufman 228, LLC: Index No. 600034/16, Case No. 2020-03722, 2023 NY Slip Op 00126 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 1/11/23; Dillon, JP, Nelson, Miller, Maltese, JJ)