NYCHA Not Responsible for Fire in Tenant's Apartment

Tenant sued landlord and landlord's contractor after her apartment was damaged in a fire. The contractor was hired to replace gas risers to various floors in the building. Tenant claimed that the fire was caused by faulty installation of the gas risers. Landlord and the contractor asked the court to dismiss the case without trial, claiming that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the cord to tenant's clothes dryer. The court ruled against landlord, finding that there were questions of fact that required a trial. Landlord appealed and won. The fire marshal was in tenant's apartment right after the fire. In pretrial questioning, he said that the fire started when the electrical cord of tenant's clothes dryer shorted and ignited a pile of clothes. The cord had been damaged by pinching between the dryer and the kitchen. He also said there was no proof that the fire started in the stove or as the result of a gas leak. In that case, the fire would have ignited throughout the apartment, instead of at the spot where it was found. NYCHA also presented proof that its contractor followed required procedures for installation of the gas risers and gas connections.

Butler-Francis v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 3/28/07, p. 26, col. 5 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Saxe, JP, Williams, Sweeny, Malone, JJ)