Was Landlord Responsible for Robbery in Building?

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after her apartment was robbed. She claimed that landlord had failed to fix a broken lock on the building's front door entrance despite notice. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Tenant had testified that the front door lock was broken and that this condition existed for at least two weeks before she was robbed by intruders. Tenant claimed that she told the building super and property manager's secretary about the condition shortly before the robbery. There were questions of fact as to whether the robbery was foreseeable, given the evidence of prior crimes in and around the building. In addition, there were questions of fact as to whether the robbers were intruders who entered the building through the defective front door and whether this was the cause of the incident. Tenant stated that the intruders were impersonating police officers and weren't residents. But tenant had opened the front door of her apartment to take out the trash when the intruders pushed her into the apartment.

Bello v. Campus Realty, LLC: NYLJ, 10/29/12, p. 20, col. 3 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Mazzarelli, JP, Sweeny, Renwick, Richter, Roman, JJ)