No Notice of Lead-Based Paint

Tenant sued landlord for negligence. Tenant's child suffered lead poisoning after swallowing lead paint chips in the apartment. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial, claiming that he'd received no notice of the lead paint condition. The court ruled against landlord, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. Although landlord knew there was peeling paint in the apartment, this didn't mean he knew that it was lead-based paint. A notice to landlord from the Department of Health informing him of lead paint conditions in the apartment also didn't constitute notice of the condition, since it was issued to landlord after the child was diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Andrade v. Wong: 675 NYS2d 112 (1998) (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Bracken, JP, Copertino, McGinity, Luciano, JJ)