Monaco v. Hartz Mountain Corp.

The primary issue in this appeal centers on the liability of a commercial landowner in a case in which a traffic sign, situated on its sidewalk, became dislodged and caused injury to the landowner’s invitee. The trial court and the Appellate Division held that the commercial landowner had no “legal” duty with respect to the sign that was owned and installed by the City of Newark over which the landowner had no control. We hold that those decisions, based solely on ownership and control, too narrowly conceived the obligations of a commercial landowner. Applying well-settled principles, we are…