Lawsuit in NY! Looking for opinions

[Austin Blais]

Our LLC is currently being sued and I need help from other who have been through it.

We purchased 2 properties with the same loan under an LLC in 2016 and haven't had any problems renting them since.

The LLC is single owner in NY with my wife being the owner.

In 2019 I signed a lease to a woman and her two children for 12 months in which she paid the first 6 months up front.

In February 12 her elderly mother was on the property and slipped on ice in the driveway and "broke" her shoulder. Nobody told us of the incident right away or of the ice on the driveway.

On February 13 at 0800 am we received a text from another tenant stating that the driveway was slippery and requested our plow guy make a return trip to Salt.

On February 13 at 1000 am (2 hrs later) our plow guy returned to the property and salted.

On February 13 at 400 pm I stopped by the property to show another unit and inspected the driveway and did not see any ice.

On February 14th at 500 pm we received an email from our tenant (the daughter of the woman who fell) informing us of the incident in which I replied that I would see if the plow guy salted and I would try to bring salt up there for the walkways to assist the tenants.

Our lease does not state that we are responsible for snow removal therefore it is the tenants responsibility however we do pay a plow guy to plow and salt in order to help keep the property up to pay.

My question is for anyone who has been through a trip or fall lawsuit. Do they have any grounds in this lawsuit?

[Nathan Gesner]

You can do everything 100% correctly and legally and still be sued. It happens all the time.

The risk of loss is usually for negligence. I don't see where you were negligent. First, it's the tenant's responsibility to clear the snow and ice. Second, you sent someone to the property to help out even though it wasn't your responsibility.

I don't see how they have a case. However, the judicial system is a funny place and you can never really tell what a judge is going to do. Make sure you have everything documented and stick to the facts.