Landlord Had No Notice of Lead Paint Condition

Tenant sued landlord, seeking damages for injuries he claimed resulted from exposure to lead paint in the apartment as a child between 1991 and 1997. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord, finding that he didn't have actual or constructive notice of the hazardous lead paint condition. Tenant appealed and lost. To show that landlord is liable for a lead paint condition, a tenant must demonstrate that landlord had actual or constructive notice of, and a reasonable opportunity to cure, the hazardous condition. Landlord and his wife had bought the building in 1993. Landlord's wife died in 2004. Landlord had participated in buying the property as an accommodation to the financial situation of his wife's son and her nephew. He was an owner "on paper" only and had nothing to do with leasing or management of the property. One judge on the panel disagreed with the decision because he believed a trial was required to determine the facts concerning whether landlord had notice.

Hamilton v. Picardo: 2014 NY Slip Op 04290, 2014 WL 2619801 (App. Div. 4th Dept.; 6/13/14; Smith, JP, Fahey [dissenting], Peradotto, Carni, Sconiers, JJ)