Aarons v. Austoria Apartments, Inc.

A-5524-99T3 (N.J. Super. App. Div. 2001) (Unpublished)

Opinion Date: May 3, 2001
Real Property Law
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SIDEWALKS—The liability imposed on a commercial property owner to maintain abutting sidewalks does not apply to owners of vacant land not being used for commercial purposes and which does not have the capacity to readily be so used.

A pedestrian was injured in a trip and fall on a broken, uneven portion of sidewalk. The sidewalk abutted a vacant lot in a commercial zone; in fact, the lot had been vacant for approximately 20 years. The lower court granted summary judgment in favor of the property owner. On appeal, the pedestrian asserted that a municipal ordinance required all property owners to repair and maintain their sidewalks and that failure to abide by the ordinance could be evidence of negligence. The Court disagreed. Under prior New Jersey law, liability imposed “upon a commercial property owner for negligent maintenance of abutting sidewalks, does not apply to vacant land which is not being used for commercial purposes and does not have the capacity to readily be so used.”

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