TT&H Attorney Bill Markwardt Wins Summary Judgment for Commercial Property Owner and Landlord

In a Middlesex County New Jersey Superior Court matter, TT&H Attorney Bill Markwardt won summary judgment for the owner of a strip mall with several stores and a restaurant.  The case involved alleged improper maintenance of the parking lot’s ingress and egress area, which was allegedly blocked by snow.  This, in turn, was said to have caused the Plaintiff to park across the street, in a parking lot owned and maintained by a governmentally owned and maintained school, which had not yet had its parking lot cleared of snow and ice.

The Plaintiff slipped on ice in the school’s parking lot, sustaining serious injuries.  The Co-Defendant school system, as a state governmental entity, raised tort claims immunity arguments, obtaining summary judgment in its favor.  In addition, the restaurant-tenant of the commercial strip mall, to which the Plaintiff was heading as a patron, was entitled to indemnification from Bill’s client and was not contractually responsible for parking lot maintenance.  The contracted ice and snow removal company was also entitled to contractual indemnification from Bill’s client.

After oral argument, the Motion Judge initially reserved his decision, but eventually granted summary judgment in Bill’s favor, based largely upon arguments as to the absence of constructive notice and proximate causation.

For more information, please contact Bill Markwardt at (856) 334-0435 or wmarkwardt@tthlaw.com.