Tenant’s Claim That Staircase Defect Caused Her Fall Dismissed

Tenant sued landlord, claiming that she was injured falling down a staircase in her apartment building. Landlord claimed that any defect in the staircase was trivial and the court granted landlord’s request to dismiss the case without a trial. Tenant appealed and lost. The claimed defect in the staircase was physically insignificant. Landlord showed that the defect measured approximately one-quarter inch wide and one-tenth of an inch deep, that the staircase was well lit and unobstructed at the time of the accident, and that tenant had gone up and down the stairs on many occasions without noticing a defect. The conditions tenant pointed out as defects also weren’t the conditions she claimed caused her accident. 

Jackson v. Michel: 36 N.Y.S.3d 234, 2016 NY Slip Op 05744 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 8/10/16; Dillon, JP, Cohen, Barros, Connolly, JJ)