Tenant Assaulted in Apartment

April 30, 2008

LVT Number: #20372

Tenant sued landlord for damages after she was attacked and sexually assaulted by an intruder in her apartment. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Tenant had to show that landlord knew or should have known that criminal conduct was likely to occur at the building. The prior incidents at the building complex that involved police intervention included nonviolent offenses such as a "peeping Tom" incident and trespassing.

Tenant sued landlord for damages after she was attacked and sexually assaulted by an intruder in her apartment. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Tenant had to show that landlord knew or should have known that criminal conduct was likely to occur at the building. The prior incidents at the building complex that involved police intervention included nonviolent offenses such as a "peeping Tom" incident and trespassing. None of the prior incidents was sufficiently similar to the attack on tenant to suggest the attack was foreseeable. Tenant's experts also didn't raise a sufficient question as to whether landlord took minimal security precautions, because the experts didn't refer to relevant industry standards.

Kielbasa v. Stonehurst III Associates: NYLJ, 4/7/08, p. 31, col. 5 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Miller, JP, Covello, Eng, Chambers, JJ)

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