Justice Eileen Rakower
Shareholder Gorman sought to recover damages from a plumbing incident in her apartment. She discovered the plumbing within the apartment walls caused human feces to flow into their apartment making habitation impossible. Gorman now sought summary judgment on her complaint for breach of contract and breach of warranty of habitability. She claimed owners breached the contract in not paying for the repair of the apartment and items inside noting management admitted as the problem was within the walls, it was a corporate infrastructure failure and the corporation’s responsibility. Defendants alleged they offered to reimburse Gorman for certain expenses, but she rejected the offer. Defendants contended that the invoices Gorman provided were inaccurate. The court noted it was uncontested that the plumbing failure caused the apartment to not be habitable for an extended period of time. Defendants also admitted there was human excrement found in Gorman’s apartment. Thus, the court ruled Gorman sufficiently proved she was entitled to summary judgment on liability on her causes of action as defendants failed to raise an issue of fact. The issue of damages would be determined at trial.
