Winger v. CM Holdings, LLC

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Plaintiffs’ daughter fatally fell over the railing of an apartment balcony. The railing complied with the local housing code when the apartment complex was built but was ten inches shorter than allowed under the current housing code. Three days before the accident, the City of Des Moines Housing Appeal Board (HAB) found the property was in violation but granted a three-month extension to install compliant railings. Plaintiffs filed a premises liability action against Landlord. The jury found Landlord sixty-five percent at fault and Plaintiffs’ daughter thirty-five percent at fault. In posttrial rulings, the district court ordered a new trial, concluding that the doctrine of negligence per se did not apply to a local housing code. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the doctrine of negligence per se applies to the violation of a municipal housing code and is not limited to statewide laws; (2) Landlord’s argument that the old code applied as a matter of law was correctly rejected; (3) the HAB’s extension of time for Landlord to comply with the code simply suspended administrative penalties without excusing tort liability; and (4) the district code erred by instructing the jury on the basis that the new code applied as a matter of law. View "Winger v. CM Holdings, LLC" on Justia Law