Kevin M. Sullivan recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of a condominium association in a claim for breach of implied warranty of habitability. The plaintiff was a lower leg amputee who had rented a condominium unit from the unit owner. The plaintiff fell from the step at the back door of the leased premises, resulting in a knee injury that required surgery. The plaintiff alleged the step was defective in that the riser height was too great and violative of building and sanitary codes. In ruling for the defendant, the court agreed that the condominium association did not lease the unit to the plaintiff and there was no landlord-tenant relationship between them. The court held as a matter of law that because the implied warranty of habitability arises only from residential leases, the association could not be found liable on this count.
- cmurphy262