Calder v. Anderson, 911 P.2d 1157 (1996)

Citation: Calder v. Anderson, 911 P.2d 1157 (1996)
Parent Document: Calder v. Anderson, 911 P.2d 1157 (1996)
Jurisdiction: Montana (state)
Effective Date: 1996-02-26
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/884076/calder-v-anderson/ ↗

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Calder maintains that violation of § 70-24-303, MCA, constitutes negligence per se. This Court has not directly addressed this issue. However, when considering identical statutory provisions, the Supreme Court of Alaska has held that they impose duties different from *278and greater than those imposed by common law. Newton v. Magill (Alaska 1994), 872 P.2d 1213. In that case, Darlene Newton, the plaintiff, slipped and fell on a walkway which led to the front door of her home which was rented from the defendants. Newton, 872 P.2d at 1214. She sued her landlords based on her allegation that the walkway was slippery and hazardous and that the landlords had a duty to make it safe. Newton, 872 P.2d at 1214. The trial court dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint by summary judgment based on its conclusion that it was the plaintiff’s duty to keep the walkway safe and clean. Newton, 872 P.2d at 1214. The Supreme Court noted that even though according to traditional notions of Alaska common law a landlord has no duty to tenants for dangerous conditions on the property, Alaska’s adoption of the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act changed and added to a landlord’s obligations. That court concluded that since Alaska’s act imposed a duty on the landlord to keep even those areas occupied and used by the tenant in a clean and safe condition, the landlord had a duty to use reasonable care to discover and remedy conditions which presented an unreasonable risk of harm, and that included the slippery condition of the walkway. Whether the condition was hidden or apparent was irrelevant. Newton, 872 P.2d at 1216-18. Based on the facts in that case, the Supreme Court of Alaska held that whether the landlord failed to exercise reasonable care in light of all the circumstances with respect to the condition of the walkway presented an issue of fact to be resolved by the jury. Newton, 872 P.2d at 1218.

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