Is Landlord Responsible for Tenant's Exposure to Lead Paint as a Child?

Tenant sued landlord for negligence, claiming that he was injured as a child when exposed to lead paint in landlord's building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Tenant asked the court for partial rulings in his favor without a trial. The court ruled against both sides, who each appealed. The appeals court ruled that landlord didn't have actual or constructive notice of lead paint at the building prior to building inspection, but there was an issue of fact requiring a trial as to whether landlord took reasonable measures to abate a lead paint condition after receiving actual notice from an inspection. The appeals court also ruled that tenant couldn't appeal the lower court's pretrial denial of his motion on evidence, and that laws and regulations on lead-based paint didn't constitute notice to landlord of a lead paint condition.

Pagan v. Rafter: 2013 NY Slip Op 0453, 2013 WL 2668897 (App. Div. 4 Dept.; 6/14/13; Smith, JP, Peradotto, Carni, Valentino, Martoche, JJ)