March 1, 2007

...but it got sued over the fall anyway, because the stairs were used (although not exclusively) for access to its subway. In Bingham v NYCTA, decided Feb. 15, the Court of Appeals ruled that the Transit Authority could be held liable anyway under a duty to maintain safe means of access and egress to its facilities. Justice Graffeo, in dissent:

Beyond its incompatibility with modern trends, the majority rule is troubling because it results in a party being held liable for a condition that it did not create and lacks the power to ameliorate. Where the Transit Authority does not own, occupy or control property, it is not well-positioned to ensure that the property is free of hazardous conditions. A common carrier has no greater right than any other neighbor to enter and repair a defective condition on property owned, occupied or controlled by another, or to erect the barriers or warning signs suggested by the majority.

(via Nicole Black)