Landlord Pays $1 Million to Tenant Raped in Apartment

Tenant sued landlord, its managing agent, and president of landlord's board of directors for negligence based on failure to provide adequate building security. Tenant claimed that she was attacked by a man who entered the elevator on the second floor and followed her to her fifth-floor apartment. She said the man knocked her unconscious and raped her. She had head injuries and suffered depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the building had two doors that were supposed to be locked, tenant claimed that the doors were broken and open during the day of the attack. She also claimed that the building super repeatedly failed to close the building's rear door. She said that the attacker entered the building several days before the incident, that he claimed he was a friend of another building tenant, and that she saw him outside the building on the day of the attack. In response, landlord argued that the attacker was a stalker and that locks wouldn't have prevented the attack. Landlord also claimed that the locks worked properly, and that tenant wasn't sure right after the incident whether the attacker was the same man she'd seen earlier. Landlord and tenant settled the case before trial, and landlord agreed to pay tenant $1 million.

Abreu v. 85 McClellan St. Owners Inc.: NYLJ, 9/2/08, p. 7, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. Bronx; Manzanet, J)