Tenants Can Sue Landlord for Negligence Based on Porter's Actions

Tenants sued landlord because they claimed that landlord's building porter made a false report to NYC's Child Protective Services (CPS). Tenants made a number of legal claims against landlord. The court dismissed claims that landlord: (a) breached tenant's lease and the warranty of habitability; and (b) committed fraud, defamation, and harassment. The appeals court ruled that these claims were correctly dismissed.

But the appeals court reinstated tenants' other claims, finding that they could pursue them. Tenants' claim for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision was properly stated based on tenants' claims that the porter engaged in a pattern of harassment that the landlord was aware of and that landlord continued to employ the porter. Tenants also sufficiently pleaded their claim of negligence by stating that landlord failed to take minimal safety precautions against foreseeable harm from the porter since the porter made previous false reports to the police that landlord was aware of. They claimed it was therefore foreseeable that the porter would make the false claim they said he made to CPS.

Tenants sufficiently made a demand for punitive damages in connection with other claims in their complaint. Tenants also could maintain claims for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on their claims that landlord engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct intended to cause, or creating an unreasonable risk of causing, emotional distress. 

Garza v. Nunz Realty, LLC: 2020 NY Slip Op 05578, App. No. 12001/Case No. 2019-04238 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 10/8/20; Renwick, JP, Gonzalez, Kennedy, Mendez, JJ)