Owner Not Liable for Damage Caused to Resident's Property During Eviction

Facts: A resident was evicted from her unit by a city marshal pursuant to a warrant of eviction obtained by the PHA. Her belongings were removed from the unit by the marshal, and were stored in a storage facility.

She was later restored to possession of the unit, and her belongings were returned, but some of her belongings were missing or had been damaged. The resident sued the PHA for the damages, and the PHA asked to the court dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action. The court granted that request. The resident appealed.

Ruling: A New York appellate division court upheld the lower court’s judgment.

Reasoning: When an eviction is carried out in accordance with a duly issued warrant, an owner is not liable to the tenant for any damage caused by the marshal. Since the resident didn’t allege in the complaint that the warrant of eviction wasn’t duly issued, the PHA isn’t liable to the resident for any damage caused by the marshal.

• Sialeu v. New York City Housing Authority, January 2015