Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Murder

Tenant's family sued landlord for negligence after tenant was murdered in his apartment building. The family claimed that landlord didn't repair a broken front door lock, which allowed the murderers to get into the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant's family appealed and lost. There was strong evidence that tenant's murder was planned by several people. Tenant was an ex-drug dealer, and two assassins waited for him in the hallway outside his apartment at the exact time in the early morning that tenant got home from work. A third person waited outside the building with a walkie-talkie to coordinate the attack. The murder clearly was planned, and it was unlikely that any security measures landlord could have used would have prevented the murder.

Cerda v. 2962 Decatur Ave. Owners Corp.: NYLJ, 6/26/03, p. 18, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Buckley, PJ, Tom, Andrias, Williams, Friedman, JJ)