O'Sullivan v. Norwood
New York Court of Common Pleas
Appeal from a judgment of this court entered upon the verdict of a jury. The action was brought to recover damages sustained by a fall on the staircase of the premises 152 Broadway, New York, alleged to be due to the negligence of the defendant’s company in not properly lighting the stairs. The plaintiff visited the building for the purpose of calling upon a subtenant of a portion of the premises, which portion had been leased to the tenant by the company.
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Appeal from a judgment of this court entered upon the verdict of a jury. The action was brought to recover damages sustained by a fall on the staircase of the premises 152 Broadway, New York, alleged to be due to the negligence of the defendant’s company in not properly lighting the stairs. The plaintiff visited the building for the purpose of calling upon a subtenant of a portion of the premises, which portion had been leased to the tenant by the company. The stairway was lighted only from the street, and so imperfectly that the lower step of the second flight was obscured in darkness. The…
1Opinion of the Court
J. F. Daly, J. —
The appellant invokes the rule that a lessor, in the absence of fraud or express agreement, is not liable, to the tenant or others, lawfully upon the premises by his authority, for their condition, or that they are tenantable and may be safely and conveniently used for the purposes for which they were apparently intended (Jaffe v. Harteau, 56 N. Y. 398; Edwards v. N. Y. & H. R. R. Co., 98 N. Y. 247).
The building in which this plaintiff was injured was let to several tenants, and the staircase was the common passageway to the street for all the tenants and all persons lawfully…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Coughtry v. . Globe Woolen Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1874
- Jaffe v. . HarteauNew York Court of Appeals · 1874
- Camp v. . WoodNew York Court of Appeals · 1879
- Edwards v. New York & Harlem RailroadNew York Court of Appeals · 1885
3Cited by5 opinions
- Blake v. FoxNew York Court of Common Pleas · 1892
- Duff v. EichlerSupreme Court of Missouri · 1935
- Muller v. MenkenThe Superior Court of the City of New York and Buffalo · 1893
- Gorman v. WhiteAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1897
- Heath v. Metropolitan Exhibition Co.New York Supreme Court · 1890