Landlord Not Responsible for Trip-and-Fall on Cardboard Box

A pedestrian sued landlord NYCHA after falling over a cardboard box near the walkway of landlord's building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that it followed a reasonable cleaning routine.

The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and won. The pedestrian said she didn't see the box when she left work at 4 p.m. on the day before her fall, and landlord's caretaker stated that the box wasn't there when he left work at 4:30 p.m. on the same day. The caretaker also testified that he cleaned the area twice a day, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. So, the box could have been deposited near the walkway a few minutes before the accident. But landlord wasn't required to patrol the area 24 hours a day, and the pedestrian failed to show that the cleaning schedule described by the caretaker was "manifestly unreasonable." It didn't matter that the caretaker admitted that tenants regularly left garbage near the walkway and that it was a recurring problem. The testimony showed that landlord was aware of the general problem, not that it was aware of the specific presence of the cardboard box in question. Landlord addressed the problem by having the caretaker clean the area twice a day.

Rodriguez v. NYHCA: Index No. 151572/18, App. No. 16001, Case No. 2021-04606, 2022 NY Slip Op 03461 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/26/22; Kern, JP, Oing, Singh, Moulton, Scarpulla, JJ)