Landlord Not Liable for Assault on Tenant

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was assaulted and raped at gunpoint in her apartment building. She claimed that she had complained to landlord several times that the building door buzzer sometimes went off by itself for extended periods, permitting entry without a key. She said she also complained of finding bottles and cigarette butts in the basement and, on one occasion, a homeless man. Landlord claimed that it never received complaints about these conditions and that there had been no prior criminal activity at the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. There was no proof of prior criminal activity and no proof that landlord was notified of a defective buzzer. Tenant admitted that on the night she was approached in the building lobby, she had opened the front door with her key and that the buzzer was operating properly at that time. Landlord showed that it maintained adequate security at the building.

M.D. v. Pasadena Realty Co.: NYLJ, 1/3/03, p. 21, col. 1 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Sullivan, Rosenberger, Wallach, Rubin, JJ)