Landlord Not Liable for Fall Through Glass Window

December 1, 1996

LVT Number: 11063

Tenants sued landlord for negligence after falling through a glass window in the building's lobby. Tenants claimed that they tripped over a radiator pipe that was sticking out from the wall. Landlord claimed that tenants, two young men, had been drinking and were fooling around in the lobby. They had embraced in a ''bear hug,'' propelled themselves through the lobby, crashed through the window, and fell 12 feet to the ground. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord.

Tenants sued landlord for negligence after falling through a glass window in the building's lobby. Tenants claimed that they tripped over a radiator pipe that was sticking out from the wall. Landlord claimed that tenants, two young men, had been drinking and were fooling around in the lobby. They had embraced in a ''bear hug,'' propelled themselves through the lobby, crashed through the window, and fell 12 feet to the ground. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. The radiator pipe was so close to the window that tenants couldn't have tripped over it and been propelled with such force as to have crashed through the window. Witnesses also supported landlord's claim that tenants had been drinking and engaged in horseplay.

Pena v. Schur: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 2 (11/5/96) (Sup. Ct. Bronx; Saks, J)

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