A unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel has reinstated a personal injury claim by a tenant who moved into a bedbug-infested apartment, but has affirmed the dismissal of her claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress and her demand for punitive damages. Tenant Elizabeth Bour alleged landlord 259 Bleecker LLC knowingly hid the presence of bedbugs, which caused the previous tenant to break his lease. She alleged personal injury and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and sought punitive damages. In October 2011, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jane Solomon (See Profile) dismissed the suit.

But the appeals court reinstated the personal injury claim, citing a 2008 Manhattan Supreme Court decision, Grogan v. Gamber Corp., 19 Misc 3d 798, which allowed a similar case to go forward. That case was decided by Justice Judith Gische (See Profile), who was also on the First Department panel in Bour’s case. However, the panel ruled that Bour failed to show that the bedbugs "unreasonably endangered her physical safety or caused her to fear for her safety," and said the landlord’s alleged conduct "does not rise to the level of outrageous conduct required to sustain a claim for infliction of emotional distress." Bour’s suit was filed before a 2010 law requiring landlords to disclose any history of bedbugs in a building.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]