Court Opinion

ID: 9629675
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:47:01.003428+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:22.526406
License: Public Domain

Justice VERNIERO,
concurring.
I join in the Court’s opinion based on its precise statement of facts, which we are required at this juncture to view in a light most favorable to plaintiff. As a general proposition, there is nothing especially hazardous about mulch and other debris, or a lawnmower and snow blower being stored underneath an outdoor deck. I venture to say that a vast number of landowners maintain similar items on properties throughout New Jersey. Standing alone, such everyday conditions should not expose property owners to liability, and I see nothing in the Court’s opinion to suggest otherwise.
What makes this case appropriate for jury review is the condition of the landlord’s property, coupled with plaintiffs colorable claim concerning the hazards posed by the continual discarding of cigarette butts on the property itself. I would conclude differently if only a few errant butts were found in the area or if the landlord had no reasonable means of being aware that the butts were present at all. I adhere to my view that “[f]airness would *131require that in certain circumstances a commercial landowner should be free of legal responsibility, such as when a defective [or hazardous] condition is far removed from that party’s control.” Monaco v. Hartz Mountain Corp., 178 N.J. 401, 421, 840 A.2d 822, 835 (2004) (Verniero, J., concurring). That is not this case for the reasons expressed in the Court’s carefully-drawn opinion.
Justice LaVECCHIA joins in this opinion.
For affirming and remanding — Chief Justice PORITZ and Justices LONG, VERNIERO, LaVECCHIA, ZAZZALI, ALBIN and WALLACE — 7.
Concurring — Justices VERNIERO and LaVECCHIA.