Was Landlord Responsible for Child’s Exposure to Lead Paint?

Tenant sued landlord, claiming that her child was injured from exposure to lead paint in the apartment. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that she had no notice of any lead paint condition. The court ruled against landlord, finding that a trial was needed to determine the facts. Landlord appealed and lost. There were genuine issues of fact that required a trial. Landlord didn’t deny that she retained a right of entry to make repairs and appeared to know that the rented house was built at a time before use of lead-based paint was banned. Landlord also may have known that there was peeling paint in the house, that a young child lived there, and that lead paint was hazardous for young children.

Jackson v. Vatter: 121 A.D.3d 1588, 2014 NY Slip Op 06744 (App. Div. 4 Dept.; 10/3/14; Centra, JP, Fahey, Whalen, DeJoseph, JJ)