Politics & Government

NJ Supreme Court Rules No Lawsuits for Residential Sidewalk Shovelers

Little Silver councilman scores victory for Hoboken group in state decision with local impact

Residential property owners who remove snow from their sidewalks are not liable for anyone injured on the cleared surfaces, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in its decision to Richard Luchejko v. City of Hoboken on July 27.

Attorney Robert C. Neff, Jr., , represented the defendants in the case, a group of residents living in Skyline at Hoboken, a 104-unit condominium complex at 551 Observer Highway in Hoboken.

Luchejko, the plaintiff, was walking on the sidewalk in front of Skyline at Hoboken on the morning of February 14, 2006, when he slipped on a sheet of black ice and broke his leg. Claiming negligence for an unsafe sidewalk, Luchejko sued the City of Hoboken, Skyline, the building's property manager CM3, and D&D, a snow plowing company CM3 hired.

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D&D and Luchejko settled at trial. An appellate court panel threw out the suit against the city, concluding that snow ordinances are intended to remedy a municipal problem, not grant individuals a right of action. The Court agreed CM3 acted as Skyline's agent, not an independent contractor, and that it was not separately liable.

In a 4-2 vote, Chief Justice Rabner and Justices LaVecchia, Rivera-Soto, and Hoens agreed that because Skyline is a non-profit corporation comprised only of the residents who live there, that it should be considered a residential property, and thus not subject to the same liability laws that a commercial property is. In their decision, they cite Stewart v. 104 Wallace Street, Inc. (1981) as establishing the commercial, but not residential, liability.

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Justices Long and Albin filed dissenting opinions, stating they believed the Stewart decision did not establish a bright line rule and that the condominium association should be held liable because it should have foreseen the fall and was better able to bear the risk of loss than the pedestrian.

For more information, please consult the accompanying PDF which goes into the state's snow removal laws and prior cases in greater detail.


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