When someone slips and falls in a public or commercial building, questions often arise about who is responsible. In Stroble v. Tes Ave U, LLC, a woman who worked as a medical assistant was injured in a fall inside a medical building in Brooklyn. She filed a lawsuit against the building owner, the hospital leasing the space, and the companies hired to clean the building. The court had to decide whether the building owner or other companies involved were responsible for the condition that caused the fall.
Background Facts
On October 22, 2016, Robin Stroble was working as a medical assistant at a medical office located at 98 Avenue U in Brooklyn. Her employer, non-party Dr. Franco, leased space within the building. At about 11:00 AM, Stroble left the building and saw no water on the floor. She returned five minutes later, again seeing nothing unusual. At approximately 1:30 or 1:45 PM, she and a coworker left for the day. However, Stroble soon returned to the office because she had forgotten her employer’s car keys.
A few minutes later, as she and her employer exited the building through the vestibule, she saw two hoses running across the floor. She stepped over them but slipped and fell on a wet area. She later testified that she did not know what kind of liquid was on the floor but noted that her hands and clothes were wet after the fall. It had been raining at the time.
Her coworker, Evelyn Aponte, also testified. She had exited the building shortly before the fall and did not see water on the floor, although she later saw drips of an unknown liquid after the incident.
Issue
The court had to decide two main questions:
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Was Tes Ave U, LLC, the out-of-possession landlord, responsible for the plaintiff’s fall?
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Could New York Methodist and NYM Medical Associates be held liable under their duty to maintain a safe vestibule, even though they hired outside contractors to clean?
Holding
The court dismissed all claims against Tes Ave U, LLC. It denied the summary judgment motions filed by New York Methodist, NYM Medical Associates, and Wet Out Now Cleaning and Restoration. Tes’s indemnification and insurance claims were also denied.
Rationale
Tes Ave U, LLC leased the building to New York Methodist and did not retain control over maintenance or cleaning. Under New York law, an out-of-possession landlord is not responsible unless the hazard stems from a structural defect or a violation of a specific safety law. The court found no such defect or violation. There was no evidence that Tes was involved in the cleaning or created the hazard. Therefore, the court dismissed the claims against Tes.
New York Methodist and NYM had control over the area where the fall occurred. They hired contractors to clean the premises. However, the court noted that tenants have a non-delegable duty to keep public areas, like vestibules, reasonably safe. That duty cannot be transferred to contractors. Since the fall happened in a common area, and there were questions about whether the cleaning process created a hazard, the court found that New York Methodist and NYM could still be held responsible. Because those facts were still in dispute, the court denied their motion to dismiss.
Conclusion
This case is an example of how complex it can be to assign responsibility in a slip and fall incident involving multiple parties. While the court dismissed the claims against the out-of-possession landlord, Tes, it found that issues of fact remained for the hospital tenants and the cleaning contractors. The duty to keep public areas safe cannot always be passed to others, especially when the space is used by workers and visitors. Each party’s involvement in the cleaning, use of the area, and awareness of the conditions must be examined closely.