Court Opinion

ID: 9662116
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:59:48.259394+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:36.982625
License: Public Domain

Currie, J.
(on motion for rehearing). Counsel for plaintiffs in their briefs filed in support of their motion for rehearing contend that this court should adopt the' rule applied by the federal courts in federal income-tax cases in determining whether the operation of an apartment building constitutes a “business” within the meaning of the safe-place statute, rather than the test applied in the workmen’s compensation cases cited in our original opinion. We deem that the objective sought by the enactment of the safe-place statute, in so far as applicable to places of employment, is more nearly akin to that which prompted the enactment by the states of their Workmen’s Compensation Acts than is that of the federal income tax. Therefore, we adhere to the principles enunciated in our original opinion.
The orders of the trial court sustaining the defendants’ demurrers to the plaintiffs’ complaints gave the plaintiffs the right to serve amended complaints within a period of twenty days of service of the orders. The memorandum decision of the learned trial judge gave as a reason for sustaining the demurrers that a temporary natural accumulation of snow and ice could never be the basis of liability under the safe-place statute. Because of this ruling the plaintiffs deemed it would be useless- to plead over, and failed to do so within the twenty-day period afforded for such purpose, but instead appealed to this- court. In our opinion we disapproved of the reason advanced by the trial court for sustaining the demurrers, but upheld the trial court’s orders upon an entirely different ground, and one which the defendants apparently never raised in the trial court.
We, therefore, conclude that the interests of justice require that the plaintiffs be afforded the opportunity to serve *238bamended complaints. We did not hold in our original opinion that the owning and operation of real estate for rental purposes may not under certain circumstances be a “business” within the meaning of the safe-place statute. It is conceivable that plaintiffs may be able to allege facts sufficient to establish that the apartment house was operated by the defendants as a business.
By the Court. — The mandate of the previous opinion is modified to read as follows: “Orders modified so as to grant to the plaintiffs the privilege of serving amended complaints within a period of twenty days from the remittitur of the record from this court to the circuit court, and as so modified the orders are affirmed.” The motion for rehearing is denied without costs.