Landlord Not Responsible for Attack on Tenant in Building

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was assaulted by a masked and hooded man in the 20th floor corridor leading to her apartment. Landlord managed the building. Tenant claimed that the building's front door lock was broken for some time prior to the incident and that the building had a side door that was propped open during the day. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without trial. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and won. Landlord established through witness testimony, including tenant's, that the building's front and side door locks were operable on the day of the incident, that they had no notice of any problems in the building prior to the incident, and that the area around the building was calm and not dangerous. Tenant also failed to show that her attacker was an intruder. She couldn't identify the man, who fled down the stairs, and he could have been a tenant or an invitee rather than an intruder.

Astupina v. W. Farms Sq. HDFC: Index No. 306839/13, App. No. 14010-01011, Case Nos. 2020-04701, 2020-01312, 2021 NY Slip Op 03542 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 6/8/21; Renwick, JP, Kern, Scarpulia, Mendez, JJ)