Tenant Claims Window Guard Blocked Window Opening

Tenant sued landlord after being injured trying to get out through a window in the apartment during a fire. Tenant claimed the window opening was partially blocked by a window guard. A jury ruled in tenant's favor, finding landlord 85 percent at fault. Landlord was ordered to pay tenant $190,000 and landlord appealed. The appeals court reversed and ruled for landlord. The trial court had found that landlord should have applied for a variance from the New York City window guard law. But the window guard law doesn't require landlord to seek a variance. Instead, landlord may seek a variance if compliance with the law will create practical difficulties or unusual hardships. There was no proof that if landlord had applied for a variance, the city would have granted one. And landlord had no duty to tenant under any other laws or regulations to provide a safe means of exiting from the apartment's bedroom windows.

Thompson v. New York City Housing Authority: NYLJ, p. 34, col. 5 (3/3/95) (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Pizzuto, JP, Santucci, Friedmann, Krausman, JJ)