Ceiling-collapse cases are one type of “premises liability” personal injury case. Generally, a landowner has an obligation to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition.
In Lozano v. Mt. Hope Place Props., Inc., 2016 NY Slip Op 05545 (App. Div. 1st Dept. July 14, 2016), a ceiling-collapse case, the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s case on summary judgment.
From the decision and order:
Defendants established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where plaintiff alleges that he was injured when a portion of the bathroom ceiling in his apartment fell on his head. Defendants demonstrated that they had no notice of the alleged defective condition that caused the ceiling to collapse by submitting the deposition testimony of the building superintendent and plaintiff that there were no prior leaks or water staining present on the bathroom ceiling in the months prior to the accident.
In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact. Plaintiff does not contest that the underlying cause of the ceiling collapse was a bathtub overflowing in an apartment located two floors above earlier that day. Plaintiff presents nothing beyond mere speculation to support his assertion that the accident was related to defendants’ prior repairs of the ceiling because there is nothing in the record to suggest that the condition that necessitated the prior repairs may have contributed to the leak.