Tenant Fell Down Unlit Staircase

Tenant sued landlord for negligence, after she was injured in a fall while walking down an external staircase at her building. Tenant claimed that outside lights on the property weren't illuminated because the light timers were improperly adjusted at the time of her fall. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that there were no notations in its logbook showing that there was either a lighting problem or that anyone had complained about the lighting before tenant's accident. The court and appeals court ruled against landlord. Landlord submitted no proof that the light timers were properly adjusted so as to turn on before dark. In pretrial questioning, landlord's employees had no personal knowledge of whether the light timers were actually adjusted. A trial was needed to determine the facts.

Hiraldo v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 10/21/10, p. 26, col. 4 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Gonzalez, PJ, Tom, Catterson, Moskowitz, Richter, JJ)