New York Civil Law wrote about Rugieri v. Bannister, a weird premises liability case, awhile back (see prior post). This post is augmented by the poignant comment of Bill Altreutur of Outside the Law.
The appeal to the New York Court of Appeals comes from the Appellate Division, First Department and involves bizarre facts and issues of premises liability. In Rugieri, the plaintiff was seriously injured when he was attempting to find the bathroom in a residential home and, accidentally, chose a door that led to the cellar. One of the defendants, Leann Cheek, had borrowed the home from the defendant owner, and Cheek invited Rugieri and his companion over for dinner on the night of the accident. During dinner, Rugieri apparently excused himself from dinner to use the bathroom, and Cheek called out to Rugieri that he was attempting to open the incorrect door for the bathroom and instead was opening the cellar door.
The First Department held that summary dismissal in Cheek's favor was unwarranted given the record demonstrated factual issues on whether Cheek's guidance to Rugieri was sufficiently specific to lead him to the bathroom in light of the proximity of a similar doorway that posed a danger. The Court of Appeals will likely examine the following discreet rule of premises liability:
An . . . occupant of premises, who undertakes to direct a person unfamiliar with the surroundings to a particular part thereof, may be liable for active negligence in failing to give specific instructions, where the physical arrangement is such that a misunderstanding of the directions given would cause such person to enter a dangerous place."
New York Civil Law will keep you apprised of the appeal.
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