Tenant's Granddaughter Attacked in Building

Tenant sued landlord NYCHA for negligence after her granddaughter was sexually assaulted at the building by the granddaughter's ex-boyfriend. She claimed that landlord didn't properly secure the front door and the roof. Landlord claimed that it wasn't responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. There were questions of fact that required a trial, including whether the boyfriend was an intruder, whether he gained access to the building due to a broken lock at the front entrance door, and whether the attack was foreseeable. The granddaughter testified in pretrial questioning that the attacker followed her into the building through the front door, but gave conflicting testimony as to the amount of time that elapsed between her entry and his. It was undisputed that, on the date of the attack, the front entrance lock wasn't working and that the door took 10 to 12 seconds to close and relock. There was also evidence of a history of assaults in the building, and the super testified that tenants sometimes complained about criminal activity on the roof, where the attack took place. 

Terrero v NYCHA: 2014 NY Slip Op 02685, 2014 WL 1491614 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 4/17/14; Renwick, JP, Moskowitz, DeGrasse, Manzanet-Daniels, Feinman, JJ)