Henry v. Hamilton Equities, Inc.

• Decision Date: 01 May 2018
• Docket Number: 6423,Index 309820/11
• Citation: Henry v. Hamilton Equities, Inc., 161 A.D.3d 418, 76 N.Y.S.3d 520 (N.Y. App. Div. 2018)
• Parties: Carol HENRY, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. HAMILTON EQUITIES, INC., et al., Defendants–Respondents–Appellants, Rafae Construction Corp., et al., Defendants–Respondents.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

161 A.D.3d 418

76 N.Y.S.3d 520

Carol HENRY, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.HAMILTON EQUITIES, INC., et al., Defendants–Respondents–Appellants,Rafae Construction Corp., et al., Defendants–Respondents.

6423

Index 309820/11

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

ENTERED: MAY 1, 2018

Alan S. Friedman, New York, for appellant.

Kennedys CMK LLP, New York (Michael J. Tricarico of counsel), for respondents-appellants.

Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Albertson (Glenn A. Kaminska of counsel), for Rafae Construction Corp., respondent.

O'Toole Scrivo Fernandez Weiner Van Lieu LLC, New York (Sean C. Callahan of counsel), for AP Construction, Inc., respondent.

Renwick, J.P., Tom, Andrias, Webber, Kahn, JJ.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County(Norma Ruiz, J.), entered on or about August 25, 2017, which, insofar as appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted the motion of defendantsHamilton Equities, Inc., Hamilton Equities Company, and Suzan Chait–Grandt, as administrator of the estate of Joel Chait, for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims as against them, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

An out-of-possession landlord is generally not liable for negligence with respect to the condition of the demised premises unless it: (1) is contractually obligated by lease or otherwise to make repairs or maintain the premises, or (2) has a contractual right to re-enter, inspect and make needed repairs, and liability is based on a significant structural or design defect that is contrary to a specific statutory safety provision (seeJohnson v. Urena Serv. Ctr.,227 A.D.2d 325, 326, 642 N.Y.S.2d 897[1st Dept.1996], lv denied88 N.Y.2d 814, 651 N.Y.S.2d 16, 673 N.E.2d 1243[1996] ).

Here, the motion court properly declined to impose a duty to plaintiff on Hamilton based on the HUD Agreement that guaranteed defendantHamilton Equities Company's mortgage.As plaintiff's...