Jenkins v. Jee

224 So. 2d 153, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6044
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 2, 1969
DocketNo. 3508
StatusPublished

This text of 224 So. 2d 153 (Jenkins v. Jee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jenkins v. Jee, 224 So. 2d 153, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6044 (La. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

LeSUEUR, Judge.

Defendants, Roland Jee and Connecticut Fire Insurance Company, have appealed a judgment rendered against them, in solido, in favor of Lillie Ann Jenkins Green in the amount of $4,250.00 for personal injuries and in favor of Robert Green in the amount of $395.80 for medical expenses.

Lillie Ann Jenkins Green (“Mrs. Green”), a tenant, brought this action against Roland Jee, her landlord, and his insurer, Connecticut Fire Insurance Company (“Connecticut”), for injuries suffered when a board on the front porch of the rental property gave way, causing her to fall forward to the sidewalk below. Her husband, Robert Green, joined in the action for the medical expenses of an operation performed at Charity Hospital to correct a problem that Mrs. Green developed in both wrists. The action was filed in December, 1964, and, after many delays, tried on December 14, 1967, and February 7,-1968. Jee and Connecticut claimed that Mrs. Green could not recover for she was guilty of contributory negligence in using the porch which she knew was unsafe and that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Green could recover for the additional reason that they had not proven that the injuries subsequently complained of and operated on were related to the accident. Judgment was rendered in favor of both Mr. and Mrs. Green and Jee and Connecticut appealed the issues of both liability and quantum.

Mrs. Green bases her cause of action on Civil Code Art. 2695 which states:

“The lessor guarantees the lessee against all the vices and defects of the thing, which may prevent its being used even in case it should appear he knew nothing of the existence of such vices and defects, at the time the lease was made, and even if they have arisen since, provided they do not arise from the fault of the lessee; and if any loss should result to the lessee from the vices and defects, the lessor shall be bound to indemnify him for the same.”

Both Mr. and Mrs. Green testified that the porch was “rotten” and in a “rotten condition”, that it had not been properly maintained for almost 2 years, and that defendant knew of the condition of the porch. The landlord did not deny that plaintiffs had complained about the condition of the porch and stated that he had painted the porch shortly before plaintiff fell. While defendant Jee acknowledged that Mrs. Green probably fell from the porch of her residence, he argued that plaintiff’s knowledge of the deteriorated condition of the porch and her subsequent use of it in spite of that knowledge constituted contributory negligence which barred any recovery on her part. He cites Turner v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, 175 So.2d 304 (1965) and Prudhomme v. Berry, 69 So.2d 620 (1953), both Second Circuit Court of Appeals cases, as authority for his position.

In the case of Anslem v. Travelers Insurance Company, 192 So.2d 599 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1966), Judge Tate at page 600 reviewed the applicable legal principles regarding liability in landlord-tenant actions and observed that:

“An owner-lessor is held to strict liability, i. e., to liability without fault, for [155]*155personal injuries sustained by his tenant or others through the defective condition of the premises; neither the landlord’s ignorance of the defect nor its latency will defeat the injured person’s recovery. (Citations omitted.)
“On the other hand, not every defect causing injury is actionable, only those of a nature reasonably expected to cause injury to persons using ordinary care under the circumstances. (Citations omitted.) Likewise, although the injured person’s prior knowledge of the defective condition will not by itself defeat his recovery, his contributory negligence may do so if the injured person was fully aware that the defect was so dangerous that the premises could not be used even with the exercise of due care. (Citations omitted.)”

The Turner and Prudhomme cases, supra, both dealt with plaintiffs stepping through a hole which they knew was in a porch or floor. The court in both cases found that the plaintiffs were guilty of contributory negligence and hence could not recover any damages.

In the present case there was no hole visible in the porch. The terminology used by the Greens, that the porch was “rotten”, was apparently used to convey the idea that the porch was not properly maintained as opposed to the idea that the porch as a whole was falling down in ruin. Although the Greens described the whole porch as “rotten”, a close review of their testimony and the photographs filed in evidence shows that they were referring to the very ends of porch boards and the facing board that runs immediately under the ends of the porch boards. These areas show definite signs of deterioration while the area that plaintiff claims to have stepped on appears on its surface to be firm and usable. Plaintiff’s case is strengthened by the fact that defendant painted the porch and plaintiff was unable to adequately determine whether the porch had been repaired before it was painted or where any deteriorated areas had been located. The defendant performed the work on the porch and it would be reasonable for Mrs. Green to assume that he would repair the porch before painting it and would not paint over the rotten porch, thereby creating a virtual trap. The photographs of the porch in the area of Mrs. Green’s accident tend to bear out the reasonableness of this assumption. Defendants have not proven, in support of their claim, that Mrs. Green knew or should have known that the rotten and unsafe condition of the porch remained after it was painted.

We find the case of Murray v. Patton, 118 So.2d 704 (La.App. Orleans 1960) to be more apposite to the present case. The court said at pages 706-707:

“ * * * Mrs. Murray knew that the steps were in a generally defective condition and knew that one of the treads had given way under the weight of her young daughter. We must follow this, however, with the statement that there is nothing in the record to show that all of the steps were in a bad condition, and we must also realize that there was no way to enter or leave the rented apartment except by means of that stairway.
“ * * * the rule laid down by the Supreme Court is that knowledge of a ‘generally defective condition’ will not defeat an action ‘unless the particular defect which caused the injury is such as to indicate apparent, imminent danger.’ See, also, Ruling Case Law, vol. 16 § S68, p. 104, in which appears the following:
‘It is generally held that the mere fact that a tenant is aware of the defective condition of a portion of the premises which it is the duty of the landlord to repair does not as a matter of law make it contributory negligence to continue the use of the same, if it reasonably appears that he might safely do so with the exercise of care.’ ”

We find that Mrs. Green’s porch was not so apparently defective that she [156]*156could not reasonably use in safety that portion of it which caused her accident through the exercise of due care and that she was not contributorily negligent in her use of the porch.

Defendant alternatively seeks a reduction in quantum of plaintiff’s judgment for personal injuries, pain and suffering.

Mrs. Green claimed that a board on her front porch gave way and caused her to fall forward to the sidewalk below. On the date of the accident, January 20, 1964, she was approximately 5 months pregnant with her sixth child. Mrs.

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Related

Prudhomme v. Berry
69 So. 2d 620 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1953)
Anslem v. Travelers Ins. Co.
192 So. 2d 599 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1966)
Turner v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Company
175 So. 2d 304 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1965)
Neames v. Fidelity General Insurance Company
206 So. 2d 575 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)
Murray v. Patton
118 So. 2d 704 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1960)
Mayon v. McWood Corp.
182 So. 2d 143 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1966)
Adams v. Kimble
208 So. 2d 14 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
224 So. 2d 153, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-jee-lactapp-1969.