Errico v. LaMountain, 713 A.2d 791 (1998)

Citation: Errico v. LaMountain, 713 A.2d 791 (1998)
Parent Document: Errico v. LaMountain, 713 A.2d 791 (1998)
Jurisdiction: Rhode Island (state)
Effective Date: 1998-06-19
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1902441/errico-v-lamountain/ ↗

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Cutting to the core of this cautionary tale from the world of landlord-tenant law, a Superior Court jury determined that a wooden railing’s collapse caused a tenant to fall from the balcony of her second-story apartment. After the tenant leaned against the rotten railing, it gave way, plunging her headlong onto the concrete walkway below and causing her to suffer grievous personal injuries. The jury found that the railing constituted a dangerous condition, that this condition caused her injuries, and that the landlords were hable to the tenant for their negligence in faffing to repair the defective raffing or to warn the tenant about its defective condition. Because we conclude that the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, G.L.1966 chapter 18 of title 34 (the act), imposed a duty on the landlords to maintain the raffing in a fit and habitable condition, that substantial evidence in the record supported the jury’s finding that the landlords were negligent vis-á-vis the raffing, and that the trial justice properly instructed the jury- on this issue, we affirm the judgment below, uphold the jury’s verdict, and concur with the trial justice’s denial of the landlords’ motion for a new trial. Facts and Travel

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