Ellis v. Hilton United Methodist Church

187 A.3d 189, 455 N.J. Super. 33
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedMay 22, 2018
DocketDOCKET NO. A–0793–16T3
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 187 A.3d 189 (Ellis v. Hilton United Methodist Church) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellis v. Hilton United Methodist Church, 187 A.3d 189, 455 N.J. Super. 33 (N.J. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

ROTHSTADT, J.A.D.

*191*35In this appeal, we are asked to determine whether sidewalk liability applies to an owner of a vacant church because in Gray v. Caldwell Wood Products, Inc., 425 N.J. Super. 496, 42 A.3d 192 (App. Div. 2012), we imposed liability on the owner of a vacant, boarded-up building that had been used for commercial purposes. For the reasons that follow, we hold that a vacant church maintains its status as a noncommercial property, not subject to a commercial property's sidewalk liability. We reject any reading of Gray that imposes liability on owners of vacant residential or *36noncommercial properties that have not been put to any commercial use.

Plaintiff Timothy Ellis challenges the Law Division's orders denying his motion to classify the subject church as a commercial property and granting a cross-motion for summary judgment filed by defendants, Hilton United Methodist Church and the Board of Trustees of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. We affirm.

The facts giving rise to plaintiff's claim are not in dispute. On August 27, 2015, plaintiff filed a complaint for damages arising from injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell on the sidewalk abutting defendants' premises on September 9, 2013. He claimed that he fell because the sidewalk was uneven and broken, and alleged negligence and other causes of action arising from the incident.

Before discovery concluded,1 plaintiff filed a motion on July 20, 2016, captioned "Motion to Strike the Defense of Charitable Immunity and to Classify Defendant as a Commercial Landowner." Relying on Gray, he argued that because defendants' abandoned property had the "potential to generate income," liability should be imposed on defendants. In response, defendants filed a cross-motion for summary judgment arguing that they were not commercial landowners, the church was no longer in operation, and they had no duty to maintain the sidewalk.2 In support of their cross-motion, defendants attached a certification stating that the church was not in operation at the time of plaintiff's accident, and that worship and other programs at the church ceased in June 2011.

There was no evidence in the record that defendants conducted or allowed others to conduct any commercial enterprises from the church. It was undisputed, however, that defendants maintained *37premises liability insurance even though the church ceased operations at the location.

After considering the parties' submissions and oral argument, the motion judge denied plaintiff's motion to classify defendants as commercial landowners and granted defendants' cross-motion for summary *192judgment, dismissing the complaint with prejudice. This appeal followed.

Plaintiff contends on appeal that we should reverse the motion judge's entry of summary judgment in favor of defendants because "[a]t the time of the accident, [defendants'] property was not used for any religious or charitable purposes and [therefore] it must be classified as commercial property." He argues "[t]here is no authority to support the proposition that liability is imposed on commercial landowners[,] but not on noncommercial landowners. A property must be either commercial or residential." According to plaintiff, "[t]he mere fact that the premises was abandoned should not free [defendants] from liability." He further claims that although "there are no New Jersey cases involving a trip and fall accident that occurred on a sidewalk abutting a church that is no longer in operation[,]" the logic this court used in Gray should apply, especially because defendants maintained liability insurance like the defendant landowner in Gray. Last, although not raised before the motion judge, plaintiff argues it was improper for the judge to consider defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment before discovery was complete. We disagree with all of these contentions.

We review a trial court's order granting summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the trial court. Conley v. Guerrero, 228 N.J. 339, 346, 157 A.3d 416 (2017). We examine the competent evidential materials submitted by the parties to identify whether there are genuine issues of material fact and, if not, whether the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Ibid."Summary judgment should be denied unless" the moving party's right to judgment is so clear that there is "no room for controversy."

*38Akhtar v. JDN Props. at Florham Park, LLC, 439 N.J. Super. 391, 399, 109 A.3d 228 (App. Div. 2015) (quoting Saldana v. DiMedio, 275 N.J. Super. 488, 495, 646 A.2d 522 (App. Div. 1994) ).

We begin our analysis by recognizing that "[g]enerally, absent negligent construction or repair, a land-owner does not owe a duty of care to a pedestrian injured as a result of the condition of the sidewalk abutting the landowner's property." Dupree v. City of Clifton, 351 N.J. Super. 237, 241, 798 A.2d 105 (App. Div. 2002) (citing Stewart v. 104 Wallace Street, Inc., 87 N.J. 146, 153, 432 A.2d 881 (1981) ), aff'd o.b.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 A.3d 189, 455 N.J. Super. 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellis-v-hilton-united-methodist-church-njsuperctappdiv-2018.