Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Friend's Fall from Roof

Tenant's friend sued landlord for negligence after he fell from the building roof. The friend had visited tenant at the building 10 to 20 times and sometimes stayed overnight. One night he visited tenant, but tenant threw him out of the apartment because of his behavior. The friend went up to the building roof, somehow fell off, and ended up in the hospital. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial, claiming that it wasn't responsible. The friend claimed that he wouldn't have been able to go on the roof if it had been properly secured. But the friend got up to the roof from inside the building after being buzzed in by tenant. Landlord was required by law to ensure access to the roof from the inside of the building. The friend didn't remember what happened to him on the roof, and any claim was purely speculative. The court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case.

Parra v. 648 Grand Street Housing Development Fund Corp: Index No. 14255/09, NYLJ No. 1202616551353 (Sup. Ct. Kings; 8/26/13; Schmidt, J)