GARBAGE CONDITION TRIGGERS LIABILITY

In Bido v. 876-882 Realty, LLC, Carmen Bido slipped and fell down a flight of stairs as she attempted to avoid debris which had accumulated on her building’s stairwell.

In a personal injury lawsuit filed in the Bronx County Supreme Court, Bido characterized the condition as a continual problem. And, despite her numerous complaints to “Rego,” the building’s superintendent, nothing was supposedly done to rectify the situation. (Bido’s daughter, along with another witness, confirmed the stairwell’s “dumpy” condition.)

The landlord sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that it did not have notice of the condition that caused the accident. One of the building’s owners offered testimony that he inspected the stairwell at least once a week, that he did not observe a problem, and, that he knew of no one named “Rego.”

The Bronx County Supreme Court opted to dismiss the case due to the owner’s "lack of actual or constructive notice of the hazard, and [Bido’s] admission that she did not know how long the garbage that caused her detour had been there."

On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, trashed the lower court’s determination and reinstated the complaint. The AD1 was of the opinion that Bido’s testimony and that of her witnesses raised “issues of fact as to whether the accumulation of refuse in this stairwell was a dangerous and frequently unremedied recurring condition that caused this injury.”

Seems like this will be a messy trial.