Ottaviano v. Minicozzi

A-3161-99T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div. 2001) (Unpublished)

Opinion Date: April 24, 2001
Real Property Law
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LEASES; LIABILITY—Absent an express provision of a lease to the contrary, where a lease requires the tenant to notify its landlord about defective conditions and the tenant is injured because of a defect of which the landlord was unaware, the landlord is not liable for the injury.

A tenant held a one-year lease on a house. The tenant leaned against a rotten railing which gave way. The tenant fell and was injured. He sued the landlord, claiming that the landlord had kept the information about the rotten railing from the tenant so he would sign the lease. However, the tenant could offer no solid evidence to support that claim. The lease contained a provision stating, “[i]f the [property] is damaged or in need of repair, the Tenant must promptly notify the Landlord. The Landlord will have a reasonable amount of time to make repairs ... .” All other damages and repairs were the responsibility of the tenant. The lower court found for the landlord, finding no way for the landlord to have known about the condition of the railing and no cause for it to have known to repair it. The Appellate Division agreed, and noted that since the tenant’s “entire claim [was] based on the lease, and since there was no evidence of a breach of the lease, the judgment entered by the [lower court] [was] affirmed.”

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