Tenant Fell Down Stairs in Building

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she fell in the building's stairwell. Tenant claimed that the stairwell was clean at 8 p.m., but was filled with debris when she slipped at 9 p.m. Tenant's husband testified that transients often left garbage in the stairwell and that he'd complained many times to landlord. He said that the stairwell had been filled with garbage earlier in the day. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and dismissed the case. Tenant didn't prove that debris in the stairwell was an ongoing condition. Husband's statement alone wasn't sufficient proof that transients created the condition. Although husband claimed that the stairwell was dirty at 3 p.m., tenant's statement clearly indicated that it was clean by 8 p.m.

Oliveri v. NYCHA: NYLJ, p. 30, col. 1 (7/21/97) (App. T. 2 Dept.; Kassoff, PJ, Scholnick, Chetta, JJ)