Tenant Assaulted in Apartment

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she was assaulted in her apartment by an intruder. She claimed that an open security door in the building caused the incident. Landlord claimed he wasn't responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled for tenant and reopened the case for a trial. The attack occurred in 1992. The attacker was someone who was later convicted. Landlord got a sworn statement from the attacker in 1996 saying that he'd gotten into the building by buzzing intercom bells until someone buzzed him in. But the attacker had stated to tenant's investigator in 1992 and 1993 in recorded conversations that he'd been drawn to tenant's building because he noticed that the front door was left open. These conflicting statements presented questions of fact that required a trial. The case couldn't be dismissed.

Chianese v. Meier: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 3 (1/12/98) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Sullivan, JP, Milonas, Wallach, Williams, Tom, JJ)