![]() He acknowledged that in his years at Akelius, this was the "only major leak that occurred in this fashion" (tr at 76). apartments" (tr at 59-60) and "found the hole that was left uncovered" by contractors that management no longer uses (tr at 61, 76). Washington went to the building to "look at the leak damage in multiple. Washington further testified that management was not notified of the leak inside claimant's apartment until the next morning. exterior of the walls and down to the apartment below without anyone noticing" (tr at 61). He claimed that from his experience "it's very likely that the water would have just been dripping behind the. Washington could not say what was going on in the penthouse above claimant's apartment he did not remember if the penthouse called the emergency line. Washington believed was called on the night of the storm. He acknowledged that the building has a live-in handyman and an emergency line, which Mr. Jacob Washington, the Property Manager for the building (tr at 47 exhibit 5), testified that the flood was "tremendous" as it rained significantly that night (tr at 59). It is undisputed that there was extensive flooding in the building. There was no testimony that anyone from the building management went to claimant's apartment to ascertain the situation after she called for help. A few hours later she called the building manager and the Property Manager. Claimant spent the rest of the night moving furniture and doing "whatever could do to minimize the damage" in her apartment (id.). She was further instructed to "just put out buckets and towels," which she did as she was "frantically trying to catch the water" (id.). Not knowing what was going on, claimant called the doorman, and was told that there was a leak in the roof and that "there was nothing that could be done" (tr at 10). Claimant's mattress, box spring, other belongings and furniture were full of water. When she turned on the light, she saw water "pouring down" the door frames and walls throughout her 607-square-foot one-bedroom apartment and water accumulating under plaster, forming bubbles on the walls and ceilings (tr at 9-10). On August 22, 2019, around 2:30 in the morning (tr at 9, 67-68), claimant woke up to the "sound of rushing water" (tr at 9). The claimant testified that she lived in her building for nearly twenty years before the incident. The Court dismisses the claim against the Property Manager. After trial, the Court awards $3,150.01 to the claimant, representing the full amount she seeks against the Landlord as discussed below. Defendants argue that the provided apartment was superior to the premises. In December 2019 defendants were further notified that there were problems with the quality of the construction work in the apartment.ĭefendants argue, nonetheless, that rent credits of 18% for the 34-day time period claimant stayed in the temporary apartment sufficiently compensated claimant for the inconvenience of having her apartment destroyed by water in the middle of the night, the 44 days the apartment was damaged, and the claimant's necessary 34-day stay in the temporary apartment. Defendants acknowledge that overall it took 44 days from the initial damage to the claimant's apartment to fix the premises. At trial claimant amended her complaint to $3,150.01, representing the 34 days she had to stay in a temporary apartment, starting from September 5, 2019, at $113.16 per day, and accounting for $697.34 in rent and relocation credits she received from the Landlord.ĭefendants concede that the building contractors failed to secure an opening in the roof before the rainstorm on the night of August 22, causing "tremendous" flooding in the building, and extensive water damage to claimant's apartment (tr at 59), which necessitated prolonged construction work to the premises and claimant's 34-day relocation to a vacant apartment in her building provided by the Landlord. 21st Manhattan LLC (Landlord) to recover $4,277.45 for being displaced from her apartment (premises) due to building negligence after her apartment was damaged during a rainstorm on August 22, 2019. Richardson brought this small claims action against Property Manager Akelius Real Estate Management LLC (Property Manager or Akelius) and 5504-301 E. Defendants were represented by Joshua Smolow, of Rose & Rose, at 291 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.Ĭlaimant Kemberly L. Manhattan LLC, Defendants.Ĭlaimant, Kemberly L. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.Ĭivil Court of the City of New York, New York CountyĪkelius Real Estate Management LLC and 5504-301 E. Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. LLCĬivil Court Of The City Of New York, New York County
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