Smith v. ABC Realty Co.

At about 5:00 o’clock of the morning of June 20, 1969, the plaintiff, asleep in the bedroom of her ‘ ‘ East Village ’ ’ apartment, was awakened by an unidentified intruder who raped her at knife point. She seeks damages from her landlord as compensation for this assault.

Plaintiff was the sole witness to testify in this case tried without a jury. She testified — and I find — that she lived on the top flooor of a five-story walk-up multiple dwelling. The *277area is a known high-crime area and the building itself was visited by police about a half-dozen times during the preceding two years,…