Landlord Not Liable for Burglary of Apartment

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after his apartment was burglarized. There had been a fire in the building, which resulted in a vacate order. During the period that the building was under repair, burglars got into tenant's apartment through the fire escape and by breaking through the apartment window security gate. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, and landlord appealed. Landlord claimed it had taken all possible precautions. The building had been locked, apartment doors had been locked, tenants had been advised to remove their valuables, and the super had inspected the building at least once per day. Tenant admitted that the building had previously been safe but argued that, under the circumstances, landlord should have taken extra precautions against foreseeable criminal activity. The appeals court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. Landlord couldn't have done much more than lock the doors and provide security gates on the apartment windows, which had been done.

Roberts v. Jam Realty Co.: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 6 (4/19/99) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Nardelli, JP, Wallach, Lerner, Rubin, JJ)