Landlord Had No Notice of Elevator Misleveling Condition

Tenant sued landlord and the company that maintained its elevator for negligence after she tripped and fell while exiting a misleveled elevator on the first floor of the building. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. Neither landlord nor the elevator company had any notice of any misleveling condition of the elevator. Tenant admitted that any prior incidents of misleveling were unreported and there were no complaints to landlord before the accident. The elevator was found to be level during inspections several weeks before the accident. Tenant claimed that the condition spoke for itself. This claim didn’t apply to landlord. Tenant could pursue a claim against the elevator company to determine whether there was misleveling that caused her accident.

Ezzard v. One East River Place Realty Company, LLC: 8 N.Y.S.3d 195, 2015 NY Slip Op 03791 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/5/15; Tom, JP, Renwick, Andrias, Richter, Gische, JJ)