$______ RECOVERY - FAILURE TO SECURE METAL DRAINAGE BASIN COVER ON GROUND DIRECTLY BEYOND LANDING OF TRAIN STEPS - METAL SLIDES OUT OF PLACE AS PLAINTIFF STEPS ON IT, CAUSING FALL - BI-LATERAL QUADRICEPS TENDON RUPTURES

• Pages: 3-4

COMMENTARY

This case presented a number of very interesting legal issues. The defendant had argued that

the crime statistics in the area were such that the jury could not find that the security at the pre-

mises was unreasonable based under the standards discussed in Clohesy v. Food Circus, 149

N.J. 496 (1997). In this regard, the plaintiff, who maintained that the overall statistics did sup-

port the plaintiff’s claims, further argued that irrespective of this issue, the jury could evaluate

thesecurityin terms of evidence that much of the surrounding area had become gentrified, and

that this factor would be likely to result in more crime being focused in this low income build-

ing. Additionally, the assailant was convicted of murder, sentenced to 40 years in prison, and

was named as a third party defendant. The murderer had contended that he knew there was a

large amount of cash in the apartment because a drug deal involving the decedent’s husband

had gone bad, and the defendant owner and security owner supported that since the assailant

wasintenton committing the crime, it was highly doubtful that any additional security presence

would have had prevented the crime from occurring. The husband, who denied previously

knowing the assailant, argued that a basic mistrust in banks prompted him to keepthis cash in

the house. Moreover, plaintiff’s counsel reports that it was believed that the sophisticated

Bergen County jury would realize that a judgment against the assailant would not be collect-

able. Finally, it is interesting that the court denied the defense motion for Partial Summary

Judgment regarding the emotional distress/Portee claim, notwithstanding that the husband

did not discover that the incident occurred until he returned home for lunch severalhours later.

In this regard, the plaintiff argued that the jury could consider this claim based upon the hus-

band’s observations of the horrific event several hours later, because at that time, he did not

knowwhen the attack occurred, even though he was not present at the time oftheattack itself.

$1,625,000 RECOVERY – FAILURE TO SECURE METAL

DRAINAGE BASIN COVER ON GROUND DIRECTLY

BEYOND LANDING OF TRAIN STEPS – METAL SLIDES

OUTOFPLACEASPLAINTIFFSTEPSONIT,CAUSING

FALL – BI-LATERAL QUADRICEPS TENDON RUPTURES

Hudson County, NJ

The plaintiff, approximately 60 years-old, who was in the course of

commuting from his Orange County home, to his computer job in

Manhattan, contended that the defendantPortAuthoritynegligently

failed to properly secure a metal cover to a drainage basis that was

situated next to an outside stairway. The plaintiff stated that as he

stepped on it, the cover slid out of place, and that he fell, suffering

bilateral quadriceps tendon ruptures. There was no dispute that the

incident occurred, and a ticket taker and a Port Authority police

officer immediately observed the plaintiff injured on the ground.

The plaintiff’s engineer maintained that the hazard could have been

easily and inexpensively obviated the hazard by the simple installation of

a hinge, rather than permit the cover to sit on the basin without such

restraints.

The defendant’s position was that gravity would be expected to keep the

relatively heavy metal cover in place. The ticket agent testified that she

observed the plate become loose on approximately one to two prior oc-

casions, and reported it to her superiors. The plaintiff’s engineer con-

tended that the defendant was aware of the dangerous condition and

should have taken steps to correct it. The plaintiff also presented a Port

Authority police officer who came to the plaintiff’s assistance immedi-

ately after the incident occurred and took photographs.

The officer related that he was aware of a surveillance camera covering

the area, and that several hours after the incident, he decided to review

the footage. The officer testified that there was an apparent glitch in the

system for the approximate 15 minute period surrounding the event.

The plaintiff suffered bilateral quadriceps tendon ruptures, and required

surgery to both legs that was performed at the same time. The plaintiff

also suffered a re-rupture on one side, necessitating additional surgery.

The plaintiff contended that the recuperation was very painful and diffi-

SUMMARIES WITH TRIAL ANALYSIS 3

New Jersey Jury Verdict Review & Analysis

Founder

IraJ.Zarin,Esq.

Editor in Chief

Jed M. Zarin

Contributing Editors

Brian M. Kessler, Esq.

Michael Bagen

Laine Harmon, Esq.

Cristina N. Hyde

Deborah McNally, Paralegal

Ruth B. Neely, Paralegal

Cathy Schlecter-Harvey, Esq.

Julie L. Singer, Esq.

Tammy A. Smith, Esq.

Kate Turnbow, Paralegal

Susan Winkler

Business Development

Gary Zarin

Production Coordinator

Lisa A. Panzariello

Professional Search

Tim Mathieson

Court Data Coordinator

Jeffrey S. Zarin

Customer Services

Meredith Whelan

Circulation Manager

Ellen Loren

Published by Jury Verdict Review

Publications, Inc. 45 Springfield

Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081

www.jvra.com

Main Office:

973/376-9002 Fax 973/376-1775

Circulation & Billing Department:

973/535-6263

New Jersey Jury Verdict Review &

Analysis is a trademark of Jury Verdict

Review Publications, Inc.

Reproduction in any form with out the

expresswritten permission of the

publisher is strictly prohibited by law.

New Jersey Jury Verdict Review &

Analysis (ISSN 8750-8060) is

published monthly at the subscription

rate of $345/year by Jury Verdict

Review Publications, Inc., 45 Springfield

Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081.

Periodical postage paid at Springfield,

NJ and at additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to:

New Jersey Jury Verdict Review &

Analys is, 45 Springfield Avenue,

Springfield, NJ 07081.

Subscribe Now