Strauss v. Belle Realty Co.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kaye, J.

On July 13, 1977, a failure of defendant Consolidated Edison’s power system left most of New York City in darkness. *401In this action for damages allegedly resulting from the power failure, we are asked to determine whether Con Edison owed a duty of care to a tenant who suffered personal injuries in a common area of an apartment building, where his landlord — but not he — had a contractual relationship with the utility. We conclude that in the case of a blackout of a metropolis of several million residents and visitors, each in some manner necessarily affected by a…