Premises Liability 

Apartment Owners Settle Case with Houston Resident

For many, falling from something high in the air is the biggest fear that they possess. That fear was realized by Jane Doe when the concrete balcony below her feet gave way as she stood putting the key into the door of her second floor apartment. Jane plunged approximately 18 feet to the concrete sidewalk and parking lot below which caused severe and permanent injuries.

Jane had been living at the small apartment complex in Houston for several months when the balcony failed causing severe and permanent injuries. The fall caused the herniation of three discs in her lumbar spine, almost total loss of hearing in one ear and substantial hearing loss in another, basal skull fracture, loss of smell, lacerations, abrasions and severe bruising. In addition to her medical conditions and the medical bills she incurred, she missed several weeks from work.

Through her attorneys Jane alleged that the balcony had several cracks that compromised the integrity of the structure. Further, it was alleged that the cracks developed because of improper construction, maintenance and repair of the concrete balcony. Attorneys for the apartment complex owner and its insurer argued that the failure was a sudden event that could not be foreseen and that they had no notice of prior to the failure. Counsel for plaintiff hired experts on the liability issues including Houston City Building Codes and structural engineering. In addition, counsel retained for testifying purposes several of Jessica’s healthcare providers.

This case turned out to be far more complex than a typical premises liability case. As a general rule in Texas law, a landlord does not owe any duty to a tenant; therefore, the owner of the complex would not be responsible for any of the injuries suffered by Jane. At least three exceptions to this general rule have been carved out by the courts of Texas. One, a lessor that makes repairs to the property may be held liable for injuries resulting from those repairs. Two, the lessor can be held liable for concealed defects that existed at the time the tenant took possession of the premises. Finally, “a lessor may be liable for injuries caused by a defect on a portion of premises that remain under the lessor’s control.” Counsel for Jane had to get over this hurdle before even getting to the requirements for a plaintiff to succeed in a premises liability case.

In the area of premises liability plaintiffs such as Ms. Doe have a very difficult time proving their case. As a tenant of the apartment complex, Ms. Doe was an “invitee” at the time of the balcony collapse. In legal terms this means that Ms. Doe was on the premises of the landlord at the invitation of the landlord and so that the landlord could make money. In such a situation, the plaintiff must prove that the premise owner had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition on the premises. That is, Ms. Doe’s counsel had to prove to that the corporation that owned the property “either knew, or after reasonable inspection should have known, of an unreasonably dangerous condition,” on the premises.

Counsel for defense denied that the corporate landlord had any notice of the dangerous condition at all and filed a summary judgment. The purpose of a summary judgment is to permit the trial court to dispose of cases where a side cannot offer sufficient proof of the allegations it has made. In this case, the summary judgment claimed two things. First, defense counsel argued that the corporate landlord had not duty to its tenant, Ms. Doe. Second, the defendant argued that it did not have actual or even constructive notice of dangerous condition on the balcony.

Through the testimony derived from deposition of corporate officers, inspections of the property and expert opinion and analysis, counsel for Ms. Doe was able to defeat summary judgment. This case was mediated on two separate occasions and ultimately resolved near trial for a confidential amount.

Jane Doe was represented in this case by the attorneys of Denena & Points, P.C.

Attorneys’ fees were forty percent of the settlement. The Firm advanced case expenses of $27,000.00.

Chad D. Points
Denena & Points, P.C.
1010 Lamar, Ste. 1111
Houston, Texas 77002
713.807.9500
713.526.6704 – (facsimile)
877.307.9500 – (toll-free)