Morrison Mahoney associate Janelle Gordon recently secured a favorable summary judgment ruling in Suffolk Superior Court for a small hotel in the North End. The plaintiff claims she tripped and fell due to missing bricks in a sidewalk running adjacent to the hotel, resulting in a broken ankle. She demanded $725,000 as compensation for her injuries.
The sidewalk is owned by the City of Boston, and there was evidence developed during discovery that the hotel was aware of the defect and repaired it on occasion. Janelle argued that since it was undisputed the hotel does not own the sidewalk, it can only be liable if it caused the hole. The evidence demonstrated that the hole was caused by Haymarket Farmers’ Market vendors which removed bricks in the sidewalk to secure their tent poles, not the hotel. The plaintiff argued that the hotel is nonetheless liable for her injuries because it assumed the risk of liability by gratuitously repairing the sidewalk.
Ultimately, the Court rejected the plaintiff’s argument and agreed that because of absent evidence that the hotel caused the hole, it is not liable for the plaintiff’s injury.
