Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Fall on Wet Step

LVT Number: #28428

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after slipping and falling on a step at the building. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord neither created nor had actual knowledge of the claimed hazardous condition. The step tenant fell on had chewed-up duct tape on its tread. But tenant testified that he had used the stairs and not noticed the condition about 20 minutes before he fell, and that he didn't notice the condition in the moment immediately before he fell on the wet step.

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after slipping and falling on a step at the building. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord neither created nor had actual knowledge of the claimed hazardous condition. The step tenant fell on had chewed-up duct tape on its tread. But tenant testified that he had used the stairs and not noticed the condition about 20 minutes before he fell, and that he didn't notice the condition in the moment immediately before he fell on the wet step. There also was no proof that any claimed roof leak resulted from a structural defect.

Mangum v. 500 Brush LLC: 71 NYS3d 885, 2018 NY Slip Op 02736 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 4/19/18; Friedman, JP, Richter, Andrias, Kapnick, Webber, JJ)