Williams v. Pennlake Realty Assoc.

42 Pa. D. & C.4th 276, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 142
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County
DecidedAugust 9, 1999
Docketno. 96-02931-05
StatusPublished

This text of 42 Pa. D. & C.4th 276 (Williams v. Pennlake Realty Assoc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Pennlake Realty Assoc., 42 Pa. D. & C.4th 276, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 142 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

LAWLER, J.,

Defendants, Pennlake Realty Associates, appeal the order of this court dated June 22, 1999, denying their motions for post-trial relief. Pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), defendants have submitted a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal. This opinion is filed in accordance with Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a).

[278]*278BACKGROUND

Defendants own and manage the Lakeview Terrace Apartments, the apartment complex in which plaintiff Lisa Williams has been a tenant for approximately seven years. This apartment complex is the location where plaintiff had a slip and fall accident in June of 1994 and where plaintiff continues to reside.

In the spring of 1994, the square tiles on the floor of the bathroom in plaintiff’s apartment began “coming out.” N.T., 3/8/99, pp. 14-15. As a result, the portion of the bathroom which meets the hallway carpet had no tiles, while the remaining portion of the bathroom had the square tiles. N.T., 3/8/99, p. 41.

When this problem began, plaintiff telephoned the apartment complex office in April of 1994, reported that the bathroom tiles were missing, and asked for maintenance to come and replace them. N.T., 3/8/99, pp. 16-17. Plaintiff called the office a few times but, despite assurances that maintenance would be sent, no repairs were made to correct the problem before the accident occurred. N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 89-90. The only action taken was the preparation of a work order on April 14, 1994, which was subsequently submitted to the maintenance department. N.T., 3/8/99, p. 57; N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 35-36. Nothing further was done, as defendants’ resident manager incorrectly assumed that the problem had been addressed. N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 35-36.

On June 5, plaintiff got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As she was leaving the bathroom, plaintiff stubbed her right toe into the space between the start of the hallway carpet and the cement gap where the tiles were missing. N.T., 3/8/99, p. 17. This caused plaintiff to fall and hit her left kneecap on the concrete of the [279]*279bathroom floor. N.T., 3/8/99, p. 17. Plaintiff required surgery to correct some of the injuries sustained to her left knee. Additionally, plaintiff has developed degenerative arthritis in the knee.

Following the accident, an inspection of plaintiff’s premises was conducted by HUD. N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 31-32. Based on the inspection report, a work order was prepared by the resident manager directing that the tile problem be addressed as the “bathroom floor [is] coming apart.” N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 29-30. Defendants subsequently replaced the tiles in plaintiff’s bathroom. N.T., 3/8/99, p. 31.

Thereafter, plaintiff brought suit against defendants for the injuries she sustained as a result of her fall. The case went to trial on March 8,1999. On March 10,1999, the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff in the amount of $207,275.

ISSUES ON APPEAL

Defendants appeal the jury verdict rendered in favor of plaintiff. Defendants’ appeal, in essence, raises four issues. First, defendants argue that this court erred in refusing to enter judgment n.o.v. as defendants had no duty to make repairs. Second, defendants contend that the court’s jury charge was prejudicial to defendants because it misled the jury as to the applicable law. Third, defendants allege that this court committed evidentiary errors. Fourth, defendants claim that this court erred in failing to order a remittitur to which the defendants were entitled because the verdict is excessive. For the reasons enumerated below, it is clear that none of these alleged errors holds any merit.

[280]*280DISCUSSION

1. Defendants Were Not Entitled to a Judgment N.O.V. As They Had a Duty To Repair the Floor in Plaintiff’s Bathroom

Defendants claim they are entitled to a judgment n.o.v. based on the proposition that, absent a provision in a lease to repair, an agreement by the landlord to repair made after the tenant takes possession does not impose a tort duty to repair upon the landlord. However, defendants had a duty to repair the plaintiff’s bathroom under the factual circumstances of the case.

At the outset, it is important to note that a judgment n.o.v. is properly entered by the court only where the facts are so clear that no two reasonable minds could fail to agree that the verdict was improper. Lilley v. JohnsManville Corp., 408 Pa. Super. 83, 91, 596 A.2d 203, 207 (1991), allocatur denied, 530 Pa. 644, 607 A.2d 254 (1992). In reviewing a motion for judgment n.o.v., “the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the verdict winner, and he must be given the benefit of every reasonable inference of fact arising therefrom, and any conflict in the evidence must be resolved in his favor.” McDermott v. Biddle, 436 Pa. Super. 94, 105, 647 A.2d 514, 519 (1994), quoting Broxie v. Household Finance Company, 472 Pa. 373, 380, 372 A.2d 741, 745 (1977). With the evidence considered in the light most favorable to plaintiff in the instant case, it is clear that defendants are not entitled to a judgment n.o.v.

Generally, in the absence of a lease provision, a landlord is under no duty to repair the leased premises. Felton by Felton v. Spratley, 433 Pa. Super. 474, 479, 640 A.2d 1358, 1361 (1994). However, a landlord can be held li[281]*281able for failing to make repairs under other factual circumstances and legal theories. One such circumstance is when there is a course of conduct under which a landlord undertakes to maintain and repair the tenant’s apartment.

A landlord’s duty to repair can arise from his or her course of conduct in performing repairs even without an express promise or provision in the lease. McDevitt v. Terminal Warehouse Co., 304 Pa. Super. 438, 452, 450 A.2d 991, 998 (1982); Restatement (Second) of Torts §357. The case of McDevitt v. Terminal Warehouse Co. is representative of the current state of the law regarding a landlord’s duty to repair that arises from course of conduct. In McDevitt, the Superior Court found that the landlord had a duty to maintain a parking lot leased to tenant despite the absence of a clause in the lease. In so holding, the Superior Court relied on evidence in the record establishing that the landlord performed needed maintenance for years for the benefit of the tenant and tenant’s employees upon notification by tenant of problems that developed. 304 Pa. Super, at 451-52, 450 A.2d at 998. This course of conduct gave rise to the implication that the landlord undertook a duty to repair and maintain the premises. Id.

Likewise, in the instant case, although the lease was silent as to who had the duty to repair, defendants actually performed the maintenance and repairs of the premises. Defendants, like the landlord in McDevitt, established a procedure to handle and carry out requests for repairs made by tenants. See N.T., 3/9/99, pp. 16,25-26. By virtue of this course of conduct, there arose an implication that defendants undertook a duty to repair and maintain the premises.

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42 Pa. D. & C.4th 276, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 142, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-pennlake-realty-assoc-pactcomplbucks-1999.