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The appeals court sided with the lower court. It explained that owning property next to a city sidewalk comes with a duty to keep it safe, even for landlords who don't occupy the building themselves. This duty exists whether or not the owner leased the space to another company. But this law doesn't mean owners are automatically liable every time someone falls. The injured person still has to show the owner was negligent, meaning careless. Here, 475 Park Avenue didn't prove it lacked constructive notice, meaning enough time to notice and fix the ice, before the fall happened. Because of this gap, the case against the landlord could continue. The court also denied the landlord's request to make the parking company pay if it lost, since the landlord itself might still be found at fault.
In December 2013, Frank Gambino slipped and fell on a patch of ice on a sidewalk outside a building in New York City. The building was owned by 475 Park Avenue South, LLC, but it had been leased out to another company, 475 Parking, LLC. Gambino sued both companies for his injuries. After gathering evidence, 475 Park Avenue asked the court to dismiss the case against it. The company argued it shouldn't be responsible because it no longer controlled the property. It also wanted the parking company to cover any costs if it lost. The trial court said no to both requests. 475 Park Avenue appealed that decision.
New York City law says property owners must keep sidewalks next to their buildings safe, even if they lease the property to someone else. This is called a 'nondelegable duty,' meaning the responsibility can't be handed off. The question here was whether 475 Park Avenue proved it didn't know, and couldn't have known, about the icy sidewalk before Gambino fell.
This case confirms that property owners in New York City can't fully escape responsibility for sidewalk hazards by leasing their property to someone else. Landlords must still show they didn't know, and had no reasonable way to know, about dangerous conditions like ice. This ruling matters for anyone injured on a city sidewalk near leased commercial property.
Talk to a licensed personal injury lawyer in New York.