Tenant Slipped and Fell on Rug in Lobby

Tenant sued landlord for negligence after she slipped and fell on a rug in the building's lobby. Tenant claimed that the rug was often wrinkled and its edges curled, which created a hazard. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. During pretrial questioning, tenant admitted that she saw no wrinkles in the carpet when she left or returned to the building on the day of the accident. She only saw wrinkles on the rug after she fell. She also said she saw bumps in the rug only once or twice during the 20 years she lived in the building. The sworn statement tenant later submitted to the court, which said that the rug was often wrinkled, contradicted these statements. The affidavit of tenant's engineer, which stated that the rug was dangerous because it had a tendency to bunch up and ripple, was made a year after the accident. The engineer's statement didn't relate to the condition of the rug at the time of the accident.

Budd v. Gotham House Owners Corp.: NYLJ, 4/7/05, p. 27, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Mazzarelli, JP, Sullivan, Williams, Gonzalez, Catterson, JJ)