Landlord Not Responsible for Accident Caused by Tenant's Plumber

Pedestrian sued landlord for negligence. She was injured when her foot fell through a cellar door in the sidewalk in front of landlord's building that opened suddenly as she stepped on the door in front of it. Landlord claimed that she wasn’t responsible for the accident and asked the court to dismiss the case. The court ruled for landlord. Landlord lived in the building and was upstairs when the incident occurred. But landlord had given the basement key to her commercial storefront tenant, who was renovating his space. Tenant’s plumber was in the basement and opened the door from the inside. The pedestrian’s fall wasn’t caused by any defect or dangerous condition of the cellar doors. It was caused by the plumber’s act of opening the door.

Centeno v. Torres: NYLJ, 2/24/09, p. 28, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. Kings; Schneier, J)