AL AABDY v. [And a Third-Party Action] (2021)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Donna M. Mills, J.), entered October 13, 2020, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, denied defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

In opposition to defendants' prima facie showing that, as an out-of-possession landlord and its owner, they are not liable for the injuries plaintiff sustained while descending a staircase on their premises, plaintiff's expert opinion raised an issue of fact as to whether the absence of handrails on the staircase violated a specific statutory provision of the applicable Building Code, for which defendants may be held liable (see Guzman v. Haven Plaza Hous. Dev. Fund Co., 69 N.Y.2d 559, 565, 516 N.Y.S.2d 451, 509 N.E.2d 51 [1987];  Nameny v. East N.Y. Sav. Bank, 267 A.D.2d 108, 699 N.Y.S.2d 412 [1st Dept. 1999]).  Plaintiff also raised an issue of fact as to whether the absence of a handrail was a proximate cause of his fall by submitting his testimony that as he slipped on the third step he tried to grab hold of something to prevent his fall and there was nothing there (see Gil v. Margis Realty LLC, 183 A.D.3d 547, 122 N.Y.S.3d 893 [1st Dept. 2020];  Gold v. 35 E. Assoc. LLC, 136 A.D.3d 453, 24 N.Y.S.3d 622 [1st Dept. 2016]).