Ramirez v. Trail Ridge Apartments, Inc.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Foth, C.:

On October 4, 1966, five year old Vincent Scott Ramirez was severely injured while playing in the back yard of the apartment complex in Topeka where he lived. The culpable instrument was a trash and garbage hopper of the commercial variety, having a capacity of one cubic yard. It was constructed of steel, was mounted on four wheels, and weighed about 305 pounds, empty.

This hopper, with another just like it, was kept in a compound at the rear of the Ramirez apartment building. The compound consisted of a concrete slab largely surrounded by a…