Tenant's Father Slipped on Icy Patch

LVT Number: 9047

Tenant's father slipped on an icy patch on the walkway outside tenant's apartment and broke his ankle. Tenant's father claimed that landlord was negligent because it hadn't cleared the ice from the path. Landlord argued that it wasn't responsible for the father's injury because it hired a cleaning company for ice and snow removal. The court ruled for tenant's father, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. In situations involving snow and ice, landlords aren't liable for injuries unless they knew or should have known the sidewalk was dangerous.

Tenant's father slipped on an icy patch on the walkway outside tenant's apartment and broke his ankle. Tenant's father claimed that landlord was negligent because it hadn't cleared the ice from the path. Landlord argued that it wasn't responsible for the father's injury because it hired a cleaning company for ice and snow removal. The court ruled for tenant's father, and landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord. In situations involving snow and ice, landlords aren't liable for injuries unless they knew or should have known the sidewalk was dangerous. In this case, there was no proof that landlord knew or should have known about the slippery sidewalk.

Simmons v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 3 (8/22/94) (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Murphy, JP, Rosenberger, Kupferman, Ross, Tom, JJ)