Landlord Not Responsible for Attack by Tenant's Dog

May 13, 2013

LVT Number: #24765

Tenant's pitbull dog entered a public park playground through a hole in the fence between the park and landlord's building and bit a child. The child's mother then sued landlord and the City of New York. The court dismissed the case without a trial. The mother appealed and lost. Landlord showed that it had no knowledge that the dog existed. Even if landlord could be deemed to know about the dog based on regular apartment inspections, there was no proof that landlord then knew that the dog had vicious propensities.

Tenant's pitbull dog entered a public park playground through a hole in the fence between the park and landlord's building and bit a child. The child's mother then sued landlord and the City of New York. The court dismissed the case without a trial. The mother appealed and lost. Landlord showed that it had no knowledge that the dog existed. Even if landlord could be deemed to know about the dog based on regular apartment inspections, there was no proof that landlord then knew that the dog had vicious propensities. And the case was properly dismissed against the city because it wasn't foreseeable that a vicious animal would enter the playground through a hole in the fence.

Desay v. Copo Management, LLC: 2013 NY Slip Op 02325, 2013 WL 1338378 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 4/4/13; Tom, JP, Andrias, Saxe, Abdus-Salaam, Gische, J)

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