White

Plaintiff DeJoure White (plaintiff), through his father Derrick White, appeals from the summary judgment entered in favor of defendants and respondents Wilfredo Contreras (Contreras) and Con Pro Serve Property Management Service. [1] For the reasons set forth below, we reluctantly follow the authorities that hold that a landlord owes no duty to install screens or other protective devices to protect against a child tenant falling out of a window in the leased unit. We hold, however, that a landlord who covenants or undertakes to replace a window screen, but fails to do so, may be liable to the child tenant who falls out of the unscreened window. Here, the plaintiff has raised triable issues of fact as to the issues concerning the covenant or undertaking and legal cause, and we therefore reverse the summary judgment.

In June, 2000, three-year-old DeJoure White fell more than 25 feet to the ground from the bedroom window of the third-story apartment in the City of Los Angeles he shared with his father, Derrick White, and his mother, Tasha Norris. As a result, plaintiff sustained serious injuries that left him permanently physically and mentally disabled.

The bedroom…