Attorneys Kevin McNamara and Haley Obrzut recently secured a significant victory on summary judgment in a high-stakes premises liability action. The Plaintiff—represented by Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, a prominent Philadelphia law firm— demanded $4 million for injuries allegedly sustained during a slip-and-fall on a sidewalk outside of a condominium unit amid a freezing rainstorm. The lawsuit named multiple defendants, including the condominium unit owner (our client), the condominium association, a commercial tenant, and the snow-removal contractor. Plaintiff claimed that Defendants negligently allowed a hazardous accumulation of ice to form, causing the Plaintiff to slip and fall.

Following the close of discovery, Kevin and Haley moved for summary judgment, successfully arguing that there was no basis for any cause of action against their client under Pennsylvania law. Specifically, they demonstrated that Plaintiff failed to establish any legal duty owed by the client for several independent reasons: (1) their client had no obligation to maintain the common-area sidewalk where the incident occurred; (2) even if a duty were assumed, their client was an out-of-possession landlord and thus shielded from liability; (3) the Hills and Ridges Doctrine barred recovery because the fall occurred in the midst of an active ice storm; and (4) Plaintiff’s expert could not bridge this gap by attributing negligence where none existed.

The Court was persuaded by these arguments. Accordingly, summary judgment was granted in favor of our client, and the claims were dismissed in their entirety.

Questions on this case can be directed to Kevin McNamara at 717.237.7132 or at kmcnamara@tthlaw.com or Haley Obrzut at 717.255.7646 or at hobrzut@tthlaw.com.