Partner Rebecca K. Devlin Obtains Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Action
Partner Rebecca K. Devlin obtained summary judgment on liability grounds in an action for personal injuries allegedly sustained by a plaintiff when the motorcycle he was riding hit a low hanging wire. It was undisputed that a branch had broken off of a tree located on the premises next door to our client, that the branch was pushing on an overhead cable wire, which extended diagonally across the street from our client’s residence to a utility pole, and that the branch was hanging on the wire for several days before the accident. Rebeca argued that our client had no duty of care to plaintiff because the branch which lowered the wire, causing the accident, had broken off from a tree which was entirely within the premises next door to our client and, prior to the accident, our client had no disruption in cable services which would have notified her of a defective condition with regard to her wire. The Court agreed and found that our client neither created, nor had notice of, a defective condition on her property.
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