No Proof that Defective Door Lock Caused Tenant's Death

Tenant's body was found at the door to the roof of her 20-floor apartment building. Tenant's mother, who lived with tenant on the 11th floor, sued landlord for negligence in her daughter's death. Tenant claimed that landlord didn't maintain, inspect, and repair the building's elevators, door locks, and stairwells. The locks were often broken and the stairwells dark. The elevators stopped only on the 17th and 20th floors. Tenant usually got out on one of these floors and walked down to the 11th floor when she came home. She had gone out that evening and never returned. Tenant's mother had heard a scream in the stairwell but saw nothing. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court refused and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. Tenant's mother had no proof as to how the killer or killers got into the building, so she couldn't show that the defective door lock caused the death. There was also no proof that the murder wouldn't have occurred if the elevators were working properly and the stairwells had been properly lit. These were conclusions that weren't based on facts.

Wright v. New York City Housing Authority: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 3 (3/27/95) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Sullivan, JP, Rosenberger, Nardelli, Williams, JJ)