Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Statute of Limitations for civil liability

I was robbed at gunpoint almost 3 years ago in back of the building where I rent an apartment. I feel my landlord was at fault because the lighting is very bad and the police have said that it fosters a dangerous element because criminals have the cover of darkness to help them commit such crimes. My parking spot is back there and I was exiting my car when I was robbed and nearly killed! My wife and children were upstairs in our apartment and witnessed this robbery and it has also affected them!

What if any legal course of action can I take against my landlord? I am still having trouble sleeping at night and I am terrified every time I come home at night!

Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 4/27/01, 2:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Statute of Limitations for civil liability

Intellectually, such lawsuits can be framed

Absent some active participation by the

landlord, such as the failure to repair

door locks, or even have door locks, which

result in an attack in the building, with

prior notice of such deficiency, these

lawsuits generally fail

If there were prior complaints about the lightning

and prior attacks in the parking lot, you

may be able to overcome this big hurdle

Read more
Answered on 7/09/01, 3:33 am


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