Condo Association Not Immune From Liability For Slip-And-Fall On Its Private Sidewalk

The latest chapter in the "can I be sued if someone slips and falls on the sidewalk in front of my house after it snows" saga has been written. In Qian v. Toll Brothers Inc., the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a condominium association was responsible for clearing snow and ice from the private sidewalks that it controlled, and therefore could be liable for injuries caused by its failure to do so.

The general law on this issue is well-settled. Historically, no property owners had a duty to maintain the sidewalks on property that abutted public streets, but this changed in the early 1980’s, when the New Jersey Supreme Court imposed such a duty on commercial property owners, but not residential property owners. Therefore, commercial property owners are required to remove snow and/or ice from the sidewalks abutting their property, but residential property owners are not.

In practice, however, the law has proven easier to state than apply. What about situations involving property that is both residential and commercial (click here for more on that)? Or, situations where the injured party is a tenant who is injured on the landlord's property (click here for more on that)? Or, situations where the property is in foreclosure (click here for more on that)? Or, the issue in Qian, situations where the property is a condominium or common-interest community?

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Free Speech In Condos and Co-Ops: Round III Goes To The Resident

by: Peter J. Gallagher (@pjsgallagher)

It is not quite Ali-Frazier or even Gatti-Ward, but the New Jersey Supreme Court just delivered its third opinion in the past seven years regarding the free speech rights of residents in common interest communities (condos and co-ops). In Dublirer v. 2000 Linwood Avenue, Owners, Inc., the Court ruled that a resident who was a regular critic of the co-op's board of directors had the right to distribute leaflets under apartment doors throughout the building. (We previously wrote about the Appellate Division decision that the Supreme Court reviewed on appeal – look here.) The Court held that the co-op's "House Rule" purportedly banning all soliciting and distributing of written materials, including the resident's leaflets, was an unconstitutional abridgment of his free speech rights. In doing so, the Court clarified the standard that should generally be applied when evaluating similar issues — which arise frequently in common-interest communities — and described the types of restrictions that could be adopted without infringing on the free speech rights of residents.

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No, You Cannot Enforce A Mortgage That Has Already Been Paid In Full

by: Peter J. Gallagher (@pjsgallagher)

The Appellate Division recently dealt with an unusual situation involving a borrower trying to enforce a mortgage, which had been satisfied years earlier, against a lender that was foreclosing on a different loan. While disputes occasionally arise between lenders regarding which loans have priority over others for the purpose of foreclosure, it is highly unusual for a borrower to attempt to enforce a mortgage, much less one that had been fully satisfied. Nonetheless, this was precisely what the Appellate Division faced in Valley National Bank v. Meier.

The facts of Meier were not disputed. In 1999, the Meiers obtained a loan from Community Bank of Bergen County for $168,000, which was secured by a purchase money mortgage. At the time, Mr. Meier was the president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Community Bank, which later merged with Valley. Six years later, the Meiers obtained a home equity loan from Community Bank that was also secured by a mortgage on the same property. Two years after that, Mr. Meier paid off the original mortgage, allegedly using pre-martial assets to do so. At some point prior to paying off the mortgage, the Meiers divorced. Instead of getting a discharge of the mortgage after paying off the note, Mr. Meier received a written assignment of the mortgage which he subsequently recorded.

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It Was Not Fun To Stay (Swim) At The YMCA For This Plaintiff Or His Counsel

by: Peter J. Gallagher (@pjsgallagher)

A "garden variety slip and fall case" led to an instructive Appellate Division opinion on exculpatory clauses and the requirements of the New Jersey Court Rules governing appellate practice. The plaintiff prevailed on its appeal and had its lawsuit against defendant, which had been dismissed by the trial court, reinstated; but his counsel had to endure a scolding from the Appellate Division in the process.

In Walters v. YMCA, Plaintiff sued for injuries suffered after he slipped on the steps leading from an indoor pool at the YMCA in Newark, New Jersey. The YMCA did not deny that plaintiff slipped, but argued that plaintiff's claims were barred by a broad exculpatory clause in his membership agreement, which purported to hold the YMCA harmless for "any personal injuries or losses sustained . . . on any YMCA premises or as a result of a YMCA sponsored activit[y]." The trial court granted the motion and plaintiff appealed.

The Appellate Division reversed, holding that the exculpatory clause was "unenforceable as against public policy" because enforcing it would "eviscerate the common law duty of care owed by defendant to its invitees." The Appellate Division distinguished Walters from a prior decision, Stelluti v. Casapenn Enters., Inc., in which the New Jersey Supreme Court held that an exculpatory clause shielded a health club from injuries sustained by a plaintiff when the handlebars of her stationary bike dislodged and caused her to fall during a spinning class. In that case, the inherently risky nature of the plaintiff's physical activity was "the key consideration . . . to justify enforcing the exculpatory clause at issue." In Walters by contrast, the type of accident — slipping and falling while walking on stairs — "could have occurred in any business setting." Accordingly, the "inherently risky nature of defendant's activities as a physical fitness club was immaterial" to the Appellate Division's analysis.

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Does A Condominium Association Have Any Recourse When A Court Denies Its Request For Legal Fees?

Kate Muscalino aims to answer that question in her recent article, "You May Have Recourse When A Court Denies Your Board Attorneys's Fees," which begins:

Collections have become an area of increasing concern for condominium associations, as some unit owners struggle to pay their common charges on time and in full. As unit owners' debt continues to rise, associations are left with few options to collect: a lien on the unit and a lawsuit against the individual unit owner.

Many condo associations have been frustrated in their attempts to collect from a unit owner individually, as judges are often sympathetic to delinquent unit owners, offering extensions, scrutinizing certifications of amounts due and reducing or eliminating the association's ability to collect attorneys' fees.

Click here for the rest of the article.