1 No. 79
Josephine Chianese,
Respondent,
v.
Werner Meier et al.,
Appellants.
_________________________________________________________________
2002 NY Int. 77
June 13, 2002
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Caryn L. Lilling, for appellants.
Steve S. Efron, for respondent.
City of New York; New York State Trial Lawyers Association, amici
curiæ.
_________________________________________________________________
KAYE, CHIEF JUDGE:
The major issue on this appeal is whether apportionment of damages for
personal injuries is permissible between a negligent landlord and the
nonparty assailant who attacked the plaintiff-tenant (see CPLR 1602
(5)). We conclude that it is.
On May 14, 1992, plaintiff was attacked while entering her Greenwich
Village apartment. When she arrived home from her teaching day at
approximately 3:00 P.M., she noticed that the building's front doors
and interior security doors were open. She walked up to the third
floor and saw a stranger, Eugene Adger, on the staircase leading to
the fourth floor. As she entered her third-floor apartment, Adger
pushed her in, grabbed her around the throat and dragged her into the
bedroom. He pinned her to the bed, forcibly removed her jewelry and
tied her hands behind her back. As he left the bedroom to rummage
through the apartment, plaintiff freed herself and shouted for a
neighbor, causing Adger to flee. Adger was later apprehended and
convicted of a series of crimes, including the attack on plaintiff.
Plaintiff brought a personal injury action against the building owner
and managing agent, alleging inadequate building security. Defendants
moved for summary judgment on the strength of an affidavit from Adger,
in which he claimed that he found the building doors locked and gained
entrance by ringing buzzers until someone let him in. In opposition to
SNIPPETS:
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
City of New York; New York State Trial Lawyers Association,
The major issue on this appeal is whether apportionment of damages for personal injuries is
When she arrived home from her teaching day at approximately 3:00 P.M., she noticed that the
As she entered her third-floor apartment, Adger pushed her in, grabbed her around the throat
As he left the bedroom to rummage through the apartment, plaintiff freed herself and shouted
Defendants moved for summary judgment on the strength of an affidavit from Adger, in which he
In opposition to defendants' motion, plaintiff submitted an affidavit from an investigator
Supreme Court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint,
The Appellate Division reversed and reinstated the complaint, holding that the investigator's
The jury awarded plaintiff $400,000 for past injuries and $700,000 for future pain and
The trial court granted plaintiff's motion to set aside the apportionment, concluding that
Citing Rangolan v County of Nassau ), the court recognized the Trial Judge's error in holding
The purpose of the statute was to "remedy the inequities created by joint and several
section 1601 modifies the common law rule of joint and several liability by making a joint
Section 1602, however, excepts certain types of actions from the ambit of section 1601,
284 AD2d 37 2001); Roseboro v New York City Tr.
Amicus curiae State Trial Lawyers Association urges that plain meaning and public policy
As we proceed to resolve the issue before us, we recognize that there is cogency and anomaly
In both cases we held that general awareness of a dangerous condition cannot create an
there was evidence of an assault and multiple burglaries in the building and adjoining
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be modified, without costs, by
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