Was Landlord Responsible for Tenant's Fall from Landing?

Tenant sued landlord for negligence. Tenant placed bricks on an exterior landing of his apartment building, stepped on them, then fell when the brick moved. Tenant said that the step from the landing to the doorway was too high, and he was forced to place the bricks on the landing to permit entering and exit from his apartment. There was no hand rail on one side of the door. Tenant claimed that landlord was responsible for a dangerous condition on the property. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. Landlord was aware of a high step, as well as the missing and blocked hand rails, and that tenant had placed the bricks on the landing under the door. Landlord failed to eliminate all questions of fact that required a trial concerning whether tenant's conduct in placing the bricks on the landing was the cause of the accident, or was a normal and foreseeable result of landlord's negligence. 

Biro v. Keen: 2017 NY Slip Op 06738, 2017 WL 4325448 (App. Div. 4th Dept.; 9/29/17; Whalen, PJ, Smith, Centra, Peradotto, Carni, JJ)