You are here: / / VERTICAL LADDER FIRE ESCAPE, THROUGH WHICH PLAINTIFF FELL AND WAS RENDERED...
, ,

VERTICAL LADDER FIRE ESCAPE, THROUGH WHICH PLAINTIFF FELL AND WAS RENDERED PARAPLEGIC, VIOLATED MULTIPLE DWELLINGS LAW 53.

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Tom, determined the owner of an apartment building was in violation of Multiple Dwelling Law 53, which prohibited vertical ladder fire escapes. Plaintiff fell through the hole in the vertical ladder fire escape when she was visiting her friend’s apartment. Plaintiff was rendered paraplegic and sued the building owner:

… [I]n 1948, the Legislature amended the section to add language to subsection nine of Multiple Dwelling Law § 53 (see Laws of New York, 1948, ch 850). The law was entitled “An Act to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to existing fire escapes,” and subsection nine, as amended, expressly states that “[a] wire, chain cable, vertical ladder or rope fire-escape is an unlawful means of egress. Every such fire-escape, if required as a means of egress, shall be removed and replaced by a system of fire-escapes constructed and arranged as provided in this section” (Multiple Dwelling Law § 53[9]).

A plain reading of the clear and unambiguous language of subsection nine leads to the conclusion that all vertical ladders on multiple dwellings, regardless of when the fire escape was constructed, are unlawful and must be removed and replaced by a fire escape that complies with the provisions of Multiple Dwelling Law § 53. Notably, the section includes no exceptions of any kind … . Klupchak v First E. Vil. Assoc., 2016 NY Slip Op 03276, 1st Dept 4-28-16

 

You might also like
THE FACT THAT THE CRITERIA FOR PIERCING THE CORPORATE VEIL WERE NOT MET DID NOT PRECLUDE AN ACTION AGAINST A CORPORATE OFFICER INDIVIDUALLY FOR PARTICIPATING IN AND BENEFITING FROM A TORT, HERE THE MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRADE SECRETS (FIRST DEPT).
IN AN ACTION ALLEGING A FRAUDULENT SCHEME TO DEREGULATE APARTMENTS, TO MAKE OUT A PRIMA FACIE CASE SUCH THAT THE FOUR-YEAR LOOK-BACK DOES NOT APPLY, PLAINTIFF NEED NOT DEMONSTRATE EACH ELEMENT OF COMMON-LAW FRAUD; SUFFICIENT INDICIA OF FRAUD OR A COLORABLE CLAIM OF A FRAUDULENT SCHEME ARE WHAT MUST BE DEMONSTRATED (FIRST DEPT).
DEFENSE COUNSEL MISCALCULATED THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF DELAY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PEOPLE IN THE SPEEDY TRIAL MOTION, WHICH CONSTITUTED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE, CONVICTION REVERSED, INDICTMENT DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).
SPEED OF PLAINTIFF BICYCLIST RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT RE HIS COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE.
Plaintiff’s Use of a Partially Open A-Frame Ladder Did Not Constitute Misuse of a Safety Device—Directed Verdict in Favor of Plaintiff on Labor Law 240(1) Cause of Action Was Proper/Plaintiff’s Apparent Failure to Turn Over All of the Relevant Medical Records Required a New Trial on Damages
THE INDUSTRIAL CODE REQUIRED A GUARD ON THE SAW WHICH INJURED PLAINTIFF; DEFENDANT WAS NOT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT BASED ON THE ALLEGATION THERE WAS NO PLACE TO INSTALL A GUARD ON THE SAW.
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE PRESUMPTION A CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT (CD) HAS BEEN PAID OUT WITHIN 20 YEARS OF WHEN IT CAME DUE APPLIED TO CD’S IN PLAINTIFF’S DECEASED HUSBAND’S IRA WHICH WERE RENEWED AUTOMATICALLY (FIRST DEPT).
QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER INDUSTRIAL CODE PROVISIONS RE: DEBRIS IN PASSAGEWAYS AND KEEPING EQUIPMENT IN GOOD REPAIR IN THIS LABOR LAW 241(6) ACTION PRECLUDED SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANTS (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PRISONER CONVICTED OF A CRIME COMMITTED WHEN HE WAS SIXTEEN AND SUBJECT TO A... PART-TIME ATTORNEY WAS AN EMPLOYEE OF SOLO PRACTITIONER.