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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)

Citation
Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Parent Document
Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
1991-03-29

Other Sections in This Document (106)

Full Text

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The trial court here properly shunned the common-law categories. As stated in a leading treatise, “it is no part of the general law of negligence to exonerate a defendant simply because the condition attributable to his negligence has passed beyond his control before it causes injury____” 2 F. Harper & F. James, The Law of Torts § 27.16, at 1509 (1956). The New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1973 called the rule of landlord tort immunity an anomaly, manifesting “untoward favoritism” to landlords. Sargent v. Ross, 113 N.H. 388, 391, 308 A.2d 528, 530 (1973). “We think that now is the time for the landlord’s limited tort immunity to be relegated to the history books where it more properly belongs.” Id. at 396, 308 A.2d at 533. We concur, and now hold that Vermont landlords too may be held liable for exposing their tenants to unreasonable risks of harm in the leased premises, whether or not they retain “control” of the dangerous condition. See id. at 397, 308 A.2d at 534. II.