LANDLORD’S RIGHT TO ENTER TO MAKE REPAIRS DOES NOT CREATE A DUTY TO MAKE REPAIRS.

In finding the out-of-possession landlord was entitled to summary judgment in this slip and fall case, the Second Department noted that the landlord’s reservation of a right to enter the property to inspect and make repairs does not impose a duty to make repairs. The plaintiff alleged she slipped on ice in the workplace parking lot:

Here, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant breached a common-law duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition. The defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting proof that it was an out-of-possession landlord and, thus, had no duty to perform repairs or remove snow and ice from the premises … . In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendant had a duty to remove snow or ice under statute or regulation, the terms of the lease, or a course of conduct … . A landlord’s reservation of the right to enter property to inspect and make repairs does not in itself give rise to a duty to make repairs … . Keum Ok Han v Kemp, Pin & Ski, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 05908, 2nd Dept 8-31-16

NEGLIGENCE (SLIP AND FALL, LANDLORD’S RIGHT TO ENTER TO MAKE REPAIRS DOES NOT CREATE A DUTY TO MAKE REPAIRS)/LANDLORD-TENANT (SLIP AND FALL, LANDLORD’S RIGHT TO ENTER TO MAKE REPAIRS DOES NOT CREATE A DUTY TO MAKE REPAIRS)/SLIP AND FALL (LANDLORD’S RIGHT TO ENTER TO MAKE REPAIRS DOES NOT CREATE A DUTY TO MAKE REPAIRS)