New Trial Needed on Whether Landlord Liable for Rape of Tenant

Facts: Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was raped on the roof of apartment building. Tenant, who was 12 at the time, claimed landlord didn't maintain and repair perimeter locks, didn't establish and maintain minimum security measures, and didn't warn tenants of criminal activity. Tenant said she didn't know the assailant and that he entered the building through a defective rear door which landlord was aware had been broken for a long time. Landlord claimed that tenant knew her attacker, that he was a friend of tenant's family, and that he entered the building on the morning in question through the front door with tenant. The jury ruled unanimously in landlord's favor, and tenant appealed. Tenant claimed that the court allowed improper opinion testimony from one police witness and excluded important proof tenant offered from her own expert witnesses. Court: Tenant wins. A new trial was needed because the court admitted testimony of a housing authority police officer that, in his opinion, tenant knew her attacker. The officer admitted that he had no facts to back up his opinion. At the same time, the court prevented two of tenant's experts on rape trauma syndrome from testifying as to their opinion on the likelihood that tenant might have known her attacker. It was error to admit the police officer's testimony while refusing to admit the opinion testimony offered by tenant's expert witnesses on the same issue.

Gomez v. NYC Housing Authority: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 3 (12/27/95) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Murphy, PJ, Rosenberger, Wallach, Asch, Tom, JJ)