Rhode Island Attorneys Obtain Dismissal in Trip and Fall Case
Providence Partner Laurie L. Christensen and Associate Talia A. Kutsaftis recently received a favorable ruling on a Motion to Dismiss in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island on behalf of our condominium association client and its unit owners in a trip and fall case.
In 2021, a visitor of our client’s condominium property tripped and fell on a sidewalk curb while stepping onto the parking lot, and as a result sustained an ankle fracture. Following the incident, Plaintiff filed suit against our client for their injuries. Since our client’s condominium association is unincorporated, Plaintiff named each individual condominium unit owner in their suit. Subsequently, Litchfield Cavo attorneys Laurie Christensen and Talia Kutsaftis moved to dismiss each individual unit owner from Plaintiff’s suit.
At trial, our attorneys argued that the statutes governing Rhode Island condominium law confirm that actions arising from an alleged wrong done in the common areas of a condominium community must be brought against a condominium association, and not against individual unit owners. Further, it was determined that compliance with these statutes are not dispositive in these types of cases. The Rhode Island Supreme Court previously ruled that because a required certificate was not recorded when Plaintiff slipped and fell does not mean the condominium association did not legally exist, or that the rights and responsibilities of the association and unit owners were altered at the time of the incident.
After considering statutes governing Rhode Island condominium law and the case law relevant thereto, the District Court concluded that our defendants may not be held liable in their individual capacity as unit owners for the claim of negligence alleged in Plaintiff’s Complaint, and dismissed our unit owner clients from this case.
Laurie Christensen focuses her practice on a range of litigation matters, including premises liability, commercial liability, personal injury, product defect and toxic torts.
Talia Kutsaftis has experience in the areas of business law and intellectual property, as well as criminal and family law.