Ana Jocelyn Pena v. Penny Lane Realty Inc. Index No. 303202/11 Bronx Supreme Court

3/20/2014

The plaintiff was assaulted by an intruder in the lobby or vestibule of her apartment building, which was located at 1164 Cromwell Avenue, Bronx, NY and owned by Penny Lane. The plaintiff alleged that the lock for the inner door of the lobby was frequently broken, and had been broken for about a week prior to the incident. In contrast, the building super testified that he checked the locks on a daily basis, and it had been working the night before the assault. The Court found that the plaintiff’s testimony that her husband complained about the locks was hearsay. In addition, although the plaintiff testified that the lock had been broken for a week, she did not make any complaints herself about the lock. Therefore, the plaintiff failed to raise a question of fact as to whether the insured had failed to take the minimal precautions required to ensure the safety of the tenants from a foreseeable risk. Batista v. City of New York, 108 A.D.3d. 484 (1st. Dep’t., 2013).

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