Elizabeth Leo obtained a defense award in a premises liability case where the plaintiff alleged to have sustained permanent injuries following a shower ceiling collapse in an apartment rented to her by the defendant.

The plaintiff claimed that the defendant was negligent in that he failed to properly maintain, inspect, construct, and warn the plaintiff of an alleged defective condition.

Leo elicited testimony that the plaintiff herself never witnessed a leak in the subject bathroom or any evidence of water damage in the weeks or even days prior to the incident. Further, evidence was shown that there was no actual or constructive notice that the defendant could have been charged with. This testimony, as well as the evidence presented that a defect did not exist at the beginning of the tenancy, persuaded the arbitrator that there was no evidence that the defendant had notice of the alleged defective condition under the circumstances, and an award for the defendant was made.

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