Landlord Knew Child Lived in Apartment

July 31, 1999

LVT Number: 13406

Tenant sued landlord, claiming that her child was injured by a lead paint condition in the apartment that landlord didn't repair. The jury ruled against tenant, but the judge set aside the verdict and found that landlord was liable. Landlord appealed and lost. By definition, a landlord who has notice of a child under 7 years old living in an apartment has notice of any hazardous lead condition in the apartment. In this case, landlord knew the building was built before 1960 and had peeling paint, and that tenant had a child under age 7.

Tenant sued landlord, claiming that her child was injured by a lead paint condition in the apartment that landlord didn't repair. The jury ruled against tenant, but the judge set aside the verdict and found that landlord was liable. Landlord appealed and lost. By definition, a landlord who has notice of a child under 7 years old living in an apartment has notice of any hazardous lead condition in the apartment. In this case, landlord knew the building was built before 1960 and had peeling paint, and that tenant had a child under age 7. So landlord was on notice of a hazardous lead condition and should have taken action.

Woolfalk v. NYCHA: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 1 (7/6/99) (App. Div.1 Dept.; Sullivan, JP, Nardelli, Tom, Saxe, Friedman, JJ)

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