Unhinged Bathroom Door Falls on Tenant

Facts: Tenant complained to landlord that the bathroom door had come off its hinges. Six months later, the door was still off its hinges. Tenant propped the door up in front of the bathroom one day while she had guests. The door fell and hit her on the head. Tenant sued landlord for negligence. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against tenant, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled for tenant and reopened the case. Landlord then appealed. Court: Landlord wins. Although landlord was negligent in not repairing the door, the door wasn't dangerous in and of itself. Ultimately, the accident wasn't caused by landlord's failure to repair the door, but by tenant's placement of the door outside the bathroom.

Murray v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 2/28/00, p. 23, col. 1 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Sullivan, PJ, Nardelli, Mazzarelli, Wallach, Friedman, JJ)