Landlord Not Responsible for Mattress Fire

Tenant sued landlord for damages based on injuries suffered in a fire that started in a mattress that had been discarded in the second-floor hallway of tenant's building. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Investigation showed that the mattress was deliberately set on fire. The mattress itself presented no dangerous condition, and no smoking materials had been negligently discarded in the hallway. Tenant admitted that she saw no smoking materials in the hallway. When she passed by the second-floor hallway shortly before the fire, she didn't smell smoke or see anyone smoking. There also was no evidence of prior similar acts of vandalism. So there could be no inference that the arson was a foreseeable consequence of landlord's supposed negligence for failing to remove the mattress.

Santos v. Amsterdam Apartments Manager, LLC: NYLJ, 3/3/11, p. 26, col. 4 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Gonzalez, PJ, Tom, Andrias, Renwick, Abdus-Salaam, JJ)