07/30/2021
Today, we achieved an important Appellate Division victory for a client involved in a fall accident in which she sustained severe and debilitating injuries.
Attorney Michael B. Shaw, Esq. successfully prepared and submitted the appellate brief, and argued the matter before the panel of Appellate Judges on March 24, 2021.
In January of 2016, our client left work for her lunch break and was caused to slip and fall on black ice in the parking lot, resulting in significant injuries to her lower back. As a result, the client required a spinal fusion surgery, among other lengthy and significant medical treatment and procedures.
Our lawsuit named as defendants the property owner as well as the snow removal contractor, alleging negligence for their failure to provide a safe parking for lot for employees and patrons by clearing snow and ice.
We reached a highly favorable settlement agreement with the property owner, however, the trial court dismissed the snow removal contractor from the case by way of granting their motion for summary judgment. In its decision, the trial court held that there existed no contractual privity between our client and the snow removal contractor and, thus, the company owed a duty only to the property owner and not our client. Notably, the parking lot had not been serviced at all on the day of the accident.
Our office filed an appeal, arguing that the trial court erred by dismissing the snow removal contractor on the basis that contractual privity did not apply to this situation as the contractor owed an independent duty to carry out its obligations in a careful and prudent manner. New Jersey law supports the notion that, irrespective of contractual privity, "[a] contractor has a duty to persons, other than the one with whom the contractor has made the contract, to carry out his undertaken work in a careful and prudent manner, and he may be responsible to third parties for their personal injuries and property damages proximately caused by his failure to exercise that care." (Aronsohn v. Mandara, 98 N.J. 92, 105-06 (1984)).
Ultimately, the Appellate Division held that the trial court's dismissal of the snow removal contractor was improper, ruling in favor of our client and overturning the lower court's order. We are now able to continue pursuing justice for our client against the snow removal contractor.
