Tenant Can Sue Landlord for Attack by Other Tenant

Tenant sued landlord after she was injured by another tenant who attacked her in a hallway of the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that it wasn't responsible. Tenant then asked the court for permission to amend her complaint to add a claim that landlord violated Real Property Law Section 231(2) by permitting the other tenant's illegal drug activity. The court ruled for landlord and denied tenant's request.
Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Tenant claimed that landlord failed to protect her from another tenant's aggressive acts. So the court should have looked at whether landlord had the ability and a reasonable opportunity to control the other tenant's behavior and whether the harm was foreseeable. Tenant had repeatedly complained to landlord in writing of the other tenant's verbal insults, threats of harm, acts of vandalism, a prior attack, and his drug-related activity at the building. So there were questions of fact that required a trial, and tenant should be permitted to amend her complaint.

Reinert v. 291 Pleasant Avenue LLC: NYLJ, 9/19/11, p. 22, col. 2 (App. T. 1 Dept.; Torres, JP, Shulman, Hunter Jr., JJ)