Kahn v. Werbel

Decision Date15 June 1949
Docket NumberNo. A-273.,A-273.
Citation66 A.2d 559
PartiesKAHN et al. v. WERBEL et al.
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Action by Dorothy Kahn and Ben Kahn against Sidney K. Werbel and others, individually and as trustees, for injuries sustained by plaintiff Dorothy Kahn as the result of alleged negligence in maintenance of a hallway and entrance to plaintiffs' apartment. From the judgment, plaintiffs appeal.

Judgment affirmed.

Before Judges JACOBS, EASTWOOD and BIGELOW.

Harry Cohn, Newark, argued the cause for the plaintiffs-appellants.

Patrick A. Dwyer, Jersey City, argued the cause for the defendants-respondents (Carpenter, Gilmour & Dwyer, Jersey City, attorneys).

The opinion of the court was delivered by

JACOBS, S.J.A.D.

Plaintiffs, tenants in an apartment house located in Newark, New Jersey, instituted their action against the defendants, as owners thereof, to recover for injuries resulting from alleged negligence in the maintenance of the common hallway at the entrance to their apartment. The defendants denied the allegation of negligence and asserted that the plaintiffs had assumed the risk resulting from the condition of the hallway and were contributorily negligent. At the close of the plaintiffs' case, the trial court granted a motion for dismissal and this appeal is from the ensuing judgment for the defendants.

The testimony of the plaintiff Mrs. Dorothy Kahn indicated that on September 13, 1946, as she was about to enter her apartment door, located in a titled recess off the common hallway, her foot caught in a depression near the right corner of the doorway at the juncture between the tile and the saddle under apartment door, and, as a result, she fell and was injured. Mr. Sheffield, a licensed construction engineer, testified for plaintiffs that the depression was about three-eighths of an inch in depth and that there was a similar depression near the left corner of the doorway. He found no evidence that the tile had been cracked or chipped and concluded that the depression occurred in the course of original construction and constituted sub-standard or defective construction. Mrs. Kahn's husband, plaintiff Ben Kahn, testified that he had noticed the depression before the accident but never considered it a place of hazard. Their son Jack testified that he had observed the depression and that it was not obscure but Mrs. Kahn testified that she never noticed it before the accident. The Kahns...

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5 cases
  • Tolman v. Wieboldt Stores, Inc.
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • July 22, 1966
    ...the standard resulted in an unreasonably dangerous and unsafe condition. Kelly v. Loft, Inc., 124 N.J.L. 185, 11 A.2d 58; Kahn v. Werbel, 4 N.J.Super. 184, 66 A.2d 559. In the instant case there was no evidence of non-compliance with any statute or ordinance or that defendant had violated i......
  • Maytnier v. Rush
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • March 6, 1967
    ...Peterson v. Feltenberger, 102 Pa.Super. 6, 156 A. 621 (1930), Kelly v. Loft, Inc., 124 N.J.L. 185, 11 A.2d 58 (1940), Kahn v. Werbel, 4 N.J.Super. 184, 66 A.2d 559 (1940). It must be pointed out, however, that this evidence is not the only evidence presented by plaintiff, as defendant Chica......
  • Vander Groef v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., A--641
    • United States
    • New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division
    • October 15, 1954
    ...Hotel Corp., 137 N.J.L. 744, 748, 57 A.2d 362, 364 (E. & A. 1948), where the cases are collected and discussed; Kahn v. Werbel, 4 N.J.Super. 184, 186, 66 A.2d 559 (App.Div.1949). Such is not the case Plaintiff argues that defendant knew or should have known there was an appreciable probabil......
  • Turner v. Chicago Housing Authority
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • June 26, 1956
    ...the standard resulted in an unreasonably dangerous and unsafe condition. Kelly v. Loft, Inc., 124 N.J.L. 185, 11 A.2d 58; Kahn v. Werbel, 4 N.J.Super. 184, 66 A.2d 559. There are no Illinois cases in point, but we believe the cases cited are sound in sustaining this Before deciding whether ......
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