Landlord Not Liable for Apartment Fire

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after he was injured in an apartment fire. Tenant, some friends, and tenant's mother were removing a Christmas tree from the apartment. The tree brushed against the stove, accidentally turned on the burners, and set the tree on fire. Tenant's friends ran out the apartment door, but tenant claimed that when he tried to open the door, it was stuck. Tenant claimed that the door was warped because the frame was too small for the door. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Tenant hadn't complained about the door for 20 years before the fire, and the door worked the day after the fire and was still working three years later. The door was ''fire rated'' and couldn't have warped in such a short time between when the fire started and when tenant tried to run out. And even if the door did warp during the fire, that could have been a result of the fire, since there was no indication that the door was warped otherwise.

Bean v. Ruppert Towers Hous. Co.: NYLJ, 7/10/00, p. 23, col. 2 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Andrias, Saxe, Friedman, JJ)