Following an earlier New Jersey Supreme Court decision holding that a residential condominium association was immune from liability for claims involving the association's alleged failure to maintain a public sidewalk located adjacent to the association's property (Luchejko v. City of Hoboken), a New Jersey Appeals Court recently extended the scope of such immunity to include the sidewalks and common areas located within a private residential community. The case is Qian v. Toll Brothers, Inc., decided on February 7, 2014.

 

Ms. Qian, a resident of the Villas at Cranbury Brook-a private adult residential community, sustained injuries when she fell on accumulated ice on a sidewalk located within the community following a winter storm. Qian filed suit against the homeowners association, its managing agent, the developer of the community, and the community's snow removal contractor, alleging all were responsible to maintain the community's sidewalks in terms of snow/ice removal.

 

The motion judge dismissed Qian's case against all defendants except for the snow removal contractor, pursuant to the Luchejko decision. In that case the State Supreme Court rejected the claim that a homeowners association was analogous to a commercial property owner with respect to the imposition of sidewalk liability. Rather, the Luchejko Court determined the property usage was primarily residential in nature, and therefore followed the prior line of cases holding that owners of private property, including a homeowners association, are under no duty for naturally occurring conditions on their sidewalks, including snow or ice.

 

Qian appealed, arguing that Luchejko should not apply because she was injured while walking on a sidewalk located within a private residential community, rather than on a sidewalk abutting a public roadway as in Luchejko. The Appellate Division denied Qian's appeal, holding "that summary judgment was correctly granted . . . in accordance with the holding of Luchejko."

 

In affirming the motion judge's ruling, the Appellate Division acknowledged as reasonable Qian's claimed distinction that in Luchejko the accident occurred on a sidewalk abutting the association's property, while she fell on the sidewalk located within the confines of the private residential community. However, the Appellate Court ruled this distinction did not provide a basis to deviate from the Luchejko decision, since in both cases the property was being used for residential rather than commercial purposes, and their respective sidewalks served a primarily public usage. Accordingly, the Appellate Division followed Luchejko, and held the homeowners association was not liable to Qian since it was under no duty to maintain the interior community sidewalks in terms of snow or ice removal.

 

The court also rejected Qian's argument that because the by-laws of the homeowners association assigned to the association the responsibility to maintain the common areas of the property and to obtain liability insurance, this created an alternative basis upon which liability could be imposed on the association. The Court noted the by-laws only authorized liability lawsuits by homeowners against the association in the limited instance of willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct by the association. The Appellate Court determined there were no facts in Qian's case evidencing willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct by the association.

 

Finally, it should be noted the Appellate Division's decision in Qian is currently unpublished. Until and unless it is approved for publication, it is not binding precedent on any other court. However, the ruling may signal the direction New Jersey law can be expected to follow.  

 

Click here to read the full text of court decision in Luchejko v. City of Hoboken

 

Click here to read the full text of court decision in Qian v. Toll Brothers, Inc