Landlord Not Liable for Slip and Fall

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after he slipped and fell on a wet floor in a corridor leading from the building's service entrance to an interior door. It was raining and, tenant claimed, had been raining on and off for some time before. But the building's porter testified that the corridor floor had been dry an hour before the accident. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. There was no way to tell how long the water had been on the floor before tenant walked in or whether tenant himself had tracked in the water that he slipped on. There was insufficient proof that landlord had actual notice or should have known of any water condition in the corridor.

Weiss v. Gerard Owners Corp.: NYLJ, 10/27/05, p. 25, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Friedman, JP, Marlow, Gonzalez, Catterson, JJ)