Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Burns from Steam Pipe

Facts: Tenant, age 30, took arthritis medication for the first time, sat on a closed toilet in his apartment, and fainted. He fell against a hot steam riser located about two feet from the toilet, and suffered second- and third-degree burns on the back of his neck. Tenant sued landlord for negligence. He claimed that the uninsulated riser pipe was unreasonably unsafe and a hazardous condition. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, and landlord appealed. Court: Landlord wins. Tenant had never complained about the bathroom pipe and knew of no other incidents in the building involving the bathroom hot steam riser. Landlord's super also stated that none of the building's 127 tenants had ever requested insulation for riser pipes. Therefore, there was no notice to landlord of any dangerous condition. In addition, the city's building code didn't require landlord to insulate the steam pipes, since they were more than 40 years old, and the building had not been altered at a cost of 30 percent or more of the building's value.

Isaacs v. West 34th Apts. Corp.: NYLJ, 1/8/07, p. 29, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Marlow, Sullivan, Gonzalez, Malone, JJ)