No Liability for Trip-and-Fall on Stairway

May 31, 2006

LVT Number: 18886

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she tripped and fell on a metal strip on the apartment building stairway. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. In pretrial questioning, tenant testified that the portion of the metal strip on the edge of the stair, which had caused her to trip, was raised upward only one quarter of an inch. Photographs showed that the condition was minor and didn't amount to a trap or snare. There was no condition that warranted a finding of landlord liability.

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she tripped and fell on a metal strip on the apartment building stairway. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. In pretrial questioning, tenant testified that the portion of the metal strip on the edge of the stair, which had caused her to trip, was raised upward only one quarter of an inch. Photographs showed that the condition was minor and didn't amount to a trap or snare. There was no condition that warranted a finding of landlord liability.

Sulca v. Barry Hers Realty, Inc.: NYLJ, 5/22/06, p. 34, col. 1 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Schmidt, JP, Crane, Spolzino, Covello, JJ)

Topics

More like this