Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Slip and Fall on Wet Stairs

Tenant sued landlord for negligence, after slipping and falling on stairs in the building. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case withouta  trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant's claim that the stairs in question were "exit" stairs under the Building Code was incorrect. Her expert's opinion that the claimed slippery condition created by the absence of slip-resistant material or use of high-gloss enamel paint didn't create any question of fact because there was no showing of any minimum requirement of non-skid material. Tenant's new claim on appeal that water might have come from a source other than weather conditions was speculative and insufficient to rebut landlord's showing that it had no actual or constructive knowledge of any wet or slippery condition in the stairwell.

Gibbs v. 3220 Netherland Owners Corp.: NYLJ, 10/29/12, p. 18, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Gonzalez, PJ, Moskowitz, Acosta, Freedman, Abdus-Salaam, JJ)