Landlords and Maintenance Firm Didn't Show They Weren't Responsible for Tenant's Injury

Tenant sued landlords for negligence after she slipped and fell in the building where she lived. The building was a mixed-use premises that included several floors of community housing owned and/or operated by landlords YMCA and Community House HDFC. An additional defendant, Metro Maintenance and Management Inc., performed maintenance services at the building. The court granted requests by landlords and the maintenance company to dismiss the case.

Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. Landlord and the maintenance company failed to show that the condition in question was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous given the circumstances at the time of tenant's accident. They also failed to establish that they satisfied any duty to warn of a potentially dangerous condition. Landlords also failed to establish that they couldn't be held responsible for negligent acts of the maintenance company, which was their independent contractor. Finally, the landlords failed to show that the accident didn't occur in a place where tenants are in the habit of passing.

Murray v. Community House HDFC, Inc.: Case No. 2020-09751, Index No. 502556/17, 2024 NY Slip Op 00079 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 1/10/24; Barros, JP, Connolly, Miller, Wooten, JJ)