Tenant Attacked in Building's Basement

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after being attacked in the building's basement. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial, claiming that it wasn't responsible for tenant's injury. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and lost. The attacker had got a key to the building from another building resident. The attacker accosted tenant in the building lobby and forced her into the elevator and down to the basement, where she was attacked and robbed. Landlord had supposedly been taking increased security measures. Another tenant had called the building security desk twice to report a suspicious person in the building lobby, then called security a third time when he saw the attacker on closed-circuit TV forcing tenant into the elevator. Under the circumstances, there were issues of fact concerning landlord's liability for the attack that required a trial.

Shaw v. Riverbay Corp.: NYLJ, 9/27/01, p. 18, col. 3 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Nardelli, JP, Williams, Tom, Andrias, Marlow, JJ)