Case Law Summaries

Samuelson v. Marks

• Opinion Date: May 18, 2001
• Real Property Law
• E-Mail

SIDEWALKS—A municipal sidewalk ordinance does not create a tort duty on a residential property owner to repair a sidewalk.

A woman slipped and fell while walking on a public sidewalk in front of residential property. She attributed her fall to a “sidewalk defect allegedly caused by roots from abutting trees located in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the curb.” The municipality had a local sidewalk ordinance imposing an obligation on all property owners to repair them when they became unsafe. It also had a Shade Tree Ordinance, creating a Shade Tree Commission. That ordinance conferred upon the commission exclusive power and control over the care of trees located in the public way and prohibited property owners from doing anything to the trees without the written permission of the commission. Under existing law, a municipality sidewalk ordinance does not create a tort duty on the residential property owner to an injured pedestrian despite the ordinance’s imposition of a duty on the property owner to repair the sidewalk. The injured woman asked the Court to alter the common law rule and “extend liability in this limited area to those localities who have enacted such ordinances.” The Appellate Division found no compelling reason to depart from the common law and prior court decisions.

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