Landlord Not Responsible for Death in Apartment

Landlord's live-in super and family members sued landlord after the super's sister died in the apartment. The sister died of smoke inhalation after her former fiance set a fire outside the apartment door. The family couldn't escape through the apartment door, which was blocked by the fire, or through the bedroom windows of the first-floor apartment because of security bars. The super's family claimed that landlord was negligent for providing insufficient security and for not removing the window bars. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible, but the court denied landlord's request to dismiss the case. Landlord appealed and won. Although the fiance had harassed and stalked the super's sister at home and at work, threatened her with a gun, and previously set her car on fire, landlord had no notice of any criminal activity at the building, and therefore, it wasn't foreseeable. Landlord had no duty to provide additional security under those circumstances. Landlord also had submitted sworn statements from a building inspector, as well as a former firefighter, who stated that the window security bars complied with local laws. So landlord had no duty to remove them.

Ishmail v. ATM Three, LLC: Index No. 8147/08, 2010 NY Slip Op 07511 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Mastro, JP, Dickerson, Eng, Lott, JJ; 10/19/10)