Landlord Not Responsible for Porter's Actions

Tenant sued landlord for negligently hiring a porter who sexually molested her daughter. The porter had been convicted of manslaughter nine years before landlord hired him. Over the years, tenant became friendly with the porter---even naming him godfather to her daughter when she was born. Twenty-three years after the porter began working in the building---when the daughter was 13 years old---tenant discovered the sexual abuse and sued landlord. Landlord asked the court to dismiss tenant's case, denying responsibility for the porter's actions. The court ruled that a jury would have to decide whether landlord should have hired an ex-con for the porter's job. Landlord appealed, and the appeals court dismissed the case. Even if landlord had been negligent in hiring an ex-con, the sexual assault grew solely out of the porter's personal relationship with tenant---it didn't relate to his work in any way. Also, the two crimes were committed over 20 years apart, and were very different in character, so landlord couldn't have foreseen that a man convicted of manslaughter would sexually assault a child many years later.

Ford v. Gildin: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 3 (5/31/94) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Sullivan, JP, Carro, Nardelli, Tom, JJ)