Blackman v. Janssen Dairy Corp.
Blackman v. Janssen Dairy Corp.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Plaintiff sued for personal injuries suffered from a fall said to have been caused by a condition of nuisance in the sidewalk at the front of the defendant’s premises. The judge, sitting without a jury, gave judgment to the plaintiff, and defendant appeals. The specification of determinations
The brief state of the ease settled by the court does not enable us to distinguish with certainty between the recital of the evidence produced and the statement of the court’s findings thereon. Our understanding, however, is that the court returns to us as the proofs in the case “that the defendant was, on November 3d, 1932, the owner, in complete possession, of the premises at 261 Ocean avenue, Jersey City, and had acquired title and possession thereto on October 1st, 1930; that the condition complained of existed on the sidewalk at the time when the property was acquired by defendant; that the sidewalk was cement and near the curb line there was a round opening in the cement about twelve inches in diameter and the dirt therein was at least one inch below the level of the cement;” and we understand further that upon those proofs the court based its factual findings as follows: “I found as a factual question that this condition constituted a nuisance, and that it was not due to wear or tear, or action of the elements; that the defendant maintained and adopted this condition; that the plaintiff while walking on the sidewalk fell and injured herself by reason of this condition.” The foregoing is the sum total of the evidence and also of the findings thereon except that an award was given for the plaintiff and against the defendant for $150. It is further certified to us that there was a motion by defendant for nonsuit, followed by a refusal and an exception thereon; and that the defendant rested without proof, moved for a judgment in its favor as a matter of law upon specified grounds, was refused and took an exception.
The respondent undertakes to support the judgment upon the theory that the condition of the sidewalk constituted a nuisance, that the nuisance was due to the construction of the sidewalk and that the defendant maintained the nuisance and is therefore liable for the plaintiff’s injuries which were caused thereby, citing Braelow v. Klein, 100 N. J. L. 156; 125 Atl. Rep. 103; Monzolino v. Grossman, 111 N. J. L.
Kespondent’s brief mentions a photograph that was in evidence, but the photograph is not before us and is not recited in the settlement of facts that comes to us in the printed case.
The judgment below will be reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.