Landlord Not Responsible for Tenant's Slip and Fall

LVT Number: #25373

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell down the building's staircase. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without a trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord showed that it neither created nor had notice of a condition tenant claimed was dangerous. Tenant's pretrial testimony as to darkness in the stairway was too vague. She said that she slipped on a step, not that her foot missed the step because she was unable to see it.

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell down the building's staircase. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the case without a trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord showed that it neither created nor had notice of a condition tenant claimed was dangerous. Tenant's pretrial testimony as to darkness in the stairway was too vague. She said that she slipped on a step, not that her foot missed the step because she was unable to see it. Tenant also claimed that the marble stairs were slippery due to their smoothness, but this wasn't a defect. 

Richards v. Kahn's Realty Corporation: 14 A.D.3d 475, 2014 NY Slip Op 00884 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 2/11/14;Mazzarelli, JP, Friedman, Renwick, DeGrasse, Gische, JJ)