Crime Not Foreseeable

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after being attacked in the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord, and tenant appealed. The appeals court ruled against tenant. To recover damages from landlord for injuries caused by the acts of a criminal at the building, tenant must show that landlord knew or should have known of the likelihood of conduct that would endanger the safety of those lawfully at the building. In this case, there had been vagrants in the building lobby during a recent winter, and tenant recalled that someone had been robbed in the building 10 years ago. These assertions didn't raise questions of fact as to whether the incident in question was reasonably foreseeable.

Howard-Seay v. Dorchester Towers Assocs.: NYLJ, p. 29, col. 5 (5/24/96) (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Rosenblatt, JP, Copertino, Altman, Friedmann, JJ)