Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Slip and Fall on Ice

Tenant sued landlord for negligence. Tenant had been injured when she fell while stepping from the slate landing onto the paved walkway outside the building, where there was some ice. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without a trial.

Tenant appealed and lost. There was no proof that landlord created the condition, or that landlord had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition. Tenant and her son rented the house from landlord, and landlord paid tenant's son to remove snow from the property. Anticipating the snowfall in question, landlord had contacted tenant's son by text message to arrange for the son to shovel and purchase salt. Pretrial questioning showed that on the night before tenant's accident the next morning, her son had salted and shoveled the paved walkway and sidewalk area of the property. He didn't shovel the slate landing immediately outside of the front door because it was enclosed and covered by a roof overhang. Tenant saw no ice on the landing or walkway at 8:30 the next morning but claimed to see it only upon her return. Landlord showed that it wasn't responsible for tenant's injury.

Mann v. Zougras: Index No. 2017-03073, 2019 NY Slip Op 01068 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 2/13/19; Scheinkman, PJ, Mastro, Maltese, Barros, JJ)