Lugo v. Austin-Forest Associates

*866The plaintiff allegedly sustained injuries when he was struck by an open cellar door as he descended the stairs leading from the sidewalk to the cellar of a building owned by the defendant Mowry Realty Associates (hereinafter the defendant landlord) and leased to the defendant Pisco Restaurant Associates, LLC, doing business as Mardi Gras Restaurant (hereinafter the defendant tenant). The defendant landlord moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims insofar as asserted against it, contending that, as an out-of-possession landlord, it could not be held liable for…