Case: Dismissal for Out-of-Possession Landlord in Assault and Sexual Harassment Case
Counsel: Alice Spitz and Paul Cividanes
Result: Case Dismissed
MSD obtained pre-discovery dismissal based upon a triple-net-lease demonstrating that our client, an out-of-possession landlord, was not liable for the conduct of their tenant’s employees at their premises.
Plaintiff was employed as a bartender in Manhattan, NY. Plaintiff’s summons and complaint alleged that she was harassed during her employment and then physically assaulted. Plaintiff filed suit against the bar owner, who operated and managed the bar, and our client who was the out-of-possession landlord
The Court, before discovery, dismissed the cased based upon the documentary evidence. Our motion demonstrated that pursuant to the triple-net-lease, our client had no control over the bar. The Court rejected plaintiff’s argument that a “special relationship” existed between our client and the tenant and therefore found that our client could not be liable for the assault on the premises, as a matter of law. Case dismissed!