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Scudero v. Campbell

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jun 18, 1942
288 N.Y. 328 (N.Y. 1942)

Summary

repairing a rotted wooden step

Summary of this case from Narvaez v. American Airlines, Inc.

Opinion

Submitted May 29, 1942

Decided June 18, 1942

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, HALLINAN, J.

Clarence S. Zipp and Francis T. Lynch for appellant.

Benjamin Solovay and Julius Soloway for respondent.


Plaintiff went to a one-family house owned by the defendant to collect a bill from the occupant who was a monthly tenant. As he descended from the front stoop, one of its wooden steps gave way causing him to fall. For injuries so suffered, he had a recovery which has been affirmed.

The trial judge left it to the jury to say whether "the defendant had control and, having control, was negligent." We are to say whether there was evidence sufficient to carry the case to the jury on that issue.

There was evidence that prior to the accident the steps in question had become "all-rotted." There was evidence that this condition was repaired by the defendant after the plaintiff was hurt and when the same tenant still occupied the premises. These circumstances were enough to countenance the verdict. "When the defendant's liability depends upon whether a landlord or his tenant was in control of premises * * * the acts of control of such a person are provable, and an act of repair done after the injury may chance to be such an act." (2 Wigmore on Evidence [3d ed.], § 283, p. 158.)

The judgment should be affirmed, with costs.

LEHMAN, Ch. J., LOUGHRAN, FINCH, RIPPEY, LEWIS, CONWAY and DESMOND, JJ., concur.

Judgment affirmed.


Summaries of

Scudero v. Campbell

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Jun 18, 1942
288 N.Y. 328 (N.Y. 1942)

repairing a rotted wooden step

Summary of this case from Narvaez v. American Airlines, Inc.

In Scudero v. Campbell, 1942, 288 N.Y. 328, 43 N.E.2d 66, the court held, in an action by a visitor of a tenant against the landlord for injury suffered by the visitor when a step leading from the front stoop of a house gave way, that post-accident repairs by the landlord provided sufficient ground to sustain a finding of control by the landlord.

Summary of this case from Bernstein v. Olian
Case details for

Scudero v. Campbell

Case Details

Full title:MICHAEL SCUDERO, Respondent, v. HELEN CAMPBELL, Appellant

Court:Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Date published: Jun 18, 1942

Citations

288 N.Y. 328 (N.Y. 1942)
43 N.E.2d 66

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