Landlord Not Responsible for Intruder's Attack on Tenant

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was attacked by an intruder who had gained access to the building when she opened the door for him. He then pushed his way into her apartment while she tried to lock the deadbolt. The court denied landlord's request to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord appealed and won. There was no defect in security that caused the attack. Tenant admittedly opened a functioning lock to allow the attacker access to the building. Tenant also claimed that the building porter had disabled one of her two apartment door locks, but admitted that she had asked the porter to do this after she locked herself out. She refused to allow a locksmith to replace the lock that day because of the cost. Tenant's deadbolt lock was functional.

Van Liew v. The Heights Management Company, LLC: NYLJ, 10/1/12, p. 18, col. 4 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Friedman, JP, Acosta, Abdus-Salaam, Manzanet-Daniels, Roman, JJ)