Pauley v. Brockton Sav. Bank

• Citation: 305 Mass. 517,26 N.E.2d 345
• Parties: GEORGE R. PAULEY v. BROCKTON SAVINGS BANK.
• Decision Date: 27 March 1940
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

305 Mass. 517

26 N.E.2d 345

GEORGE R. PAULEY v. BROCKTON SAVINGS BANK.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Plymouth.

March 27, 1940

March 7, 1940.

Present: FIELD, C.

J., DONAHUE LUMMUS, QUA, & DOLAN, JJ.

Landlord and Tenant, Common stairway, Landlord's liability to tenant or his family or his invitee.

A finding of liability of the landlord of a building for personal injuries sustained by a business visitor of a tenant through a fall when his heel caught "on something" as he was descending a common stairway was warranted by evidence that the stairway was in good condition at the beginning of the tenancy and certain evidence of the appearance of the metal treads and of a piece broken from one of the treads and found on the stairway immediately after the accident.

TORT. Writ in the Superior Court dated July 12, 1937. A verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $18,665 was returned before Hurley J.

E. J. Campbell, (J.

W. Keith with him,) for the defendant.

E. G. Townes, (M.

J. Murphy with him,) for the plaintiff.

DOLAN, J. This is an action of tort to recover compensation for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff on September 2, 1936, in a building of which the defendant was in possession under the terms of a mortgage deed. The case was tried to a jury who returned a verdict for the plaintiff; it now comes before us upon the defendant's exceptions to the denial by the judge of its motion for a directed verdict and to his denial of its motion to enter a verdict in its favor under leave reserved.

The evidence would warrant the jury in finding the following facts: One Noone the editor of a local paper in Brockton, became a tenant in the building involved on April 24, 1934. At that time the defendant held a mortgage on the premises. On December 17 1935, the defendant entered upon the premises to foreclose its mortgage. Thereafter, and at the time of the injury sustained by the plaintiff, the defendant was in control of the premises. When Noone first became a tenant "there was a marble staircase." The stairway was in "A-1 condition when he went in there." Later there was a change in the condition of the stairway and "Certain metal treads were put on the floor boards and on the riser." Thereafter the metallic treads became worn. One was noticeably frayed. The "Brotherhood Union" became a tenant of the building on June 1, 1936. At that time "the stairway . . . appeared to be all right." Subsequently, however, there was a change in the condition of the stairway. "The stairs through use seemed to be deteriorated. They were becoming loose in places -- different steps." The metal strips were "on the marble" when the "Brotherhood" became a tenant in 1936. A large number of people used the stairs. The membership of the "Brotherhood" was twelve thousand. "They used the stairs frequently . . . there were three or four meetings a week." The secretary-treasurer of the "Brotherhood

Union" "noticed the makeup of the treads . . . he reported the condition to the janitor [in the employ of the defendant] on different occasions, and also when he received a report from somebody, he would report it to the janitor . . . . He noticed wear on the metal. He gave notice to the janitor."

It is conceded by the defendant that its duty was to keep the stairway in the same condition it was or appeared to be in at the time of the letting to Noone (Cameron v. Buckley, 299 Mass. 432 , 434; Backoff v. Weiner, ante, 375, 377) and that the time of the letting is as of December 17, 1935, when it entered into possession and control of the premises.

The plaintiff had visited Noone on September 2, 1936, at his request, in connection with the business of the newspaper edited by Noone. When the business had been terminated, the plaintiff left Noone's office and proceeded to the head of the stairs. After he had taken one or two steps the heel of his right foot caught "on something." He did "not know what...