Peckham v. Capitol Springfield Realty Co.
Peckham v. Capitol Springfield Realty Co.
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff obtained a verdict in this action of tort against his landlord to recover for personal injuries sustained by him on September 13, 1950, when he fell through the empty frame of the outside door of the defendant’s apartment building in Springfield. The only exception of the defendant is to the denial of its motion for a directed verdict in its favor.
The evidence was substantially as follows. The door from the building to the sidewalk was three feet wide, consisting of a wooden frame six inches wide enclosing a plate glass central portion. The door swung outward to the right.
It appears that the defendant or its servants knew of the absence of the glass for an hour and a half before the accident. Even if the time was insufficient to replace the glass in the door, the jury could find it sufficient to enable the defendant to fasten the door open firmly, or to board up the opening, or to place a warning sign upon the door. The jury could find that the defendant failed in its duty to use reasonable care in keeping the door as safe as it was or appeared to be when the plaintiff’s tenancy began. McAvey v. Albany Realty Co. 328 Mass. 310, 314. The jury could find that the door without its glass panel constituted a hazard which the defendant failed to use reasonable care to remedy. Kraus v. G. & E. Realty Co. Inc. 241 N. Y. 566. Kennett v. Yates, 41 Wash. (2d) 558, 564. We see nothing in the conduct of the plaintiff that amounted to contributory negligence as matter of law. G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 231, § 85, as appearing in St. 1947, c. 386, § 1.
Exceptions overruled.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Howard Clark Peckham v. Capitol Springfield Realty Co., Inc.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published