Landlord Not Responsible for Scalding Shower Water

Tenant sued landlord and its heating service provider following injuries suffered when she was scalded by hot water when showering. Both landlord and the heating service provider asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court dismissed the case against the heating service provider but not against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord showed that the building’s boiler system was regularly inspected, and there was no prior notice of fluctuating water temperatures. Tenant’s reliance on the 1968 Building Code and 2008 Plumbing Code was misplaced since the building wasn’t subject to those codes. There also was no support for tenant’s claim that the bathroom was negligently designed. There was no proof of negligence by the heating service provider, which was no under contract to maintain the boiler, and there had been no boiler issues for over a month after the company did an annual inspection.

Frassinelli v. 120 East 73rd Street Corp.: 2016 NY Slip Op 00899, 2016 WL 484109 (App. Div 1 Dept.; 2/9/16; Friedman, JP, Acosta, Andrias, Saxe, Feinman, JJ)