Borders v. Roseberry

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Borders v. Roseberry
Court Supreme Court of Kansas
Citation 216 Kan. 486
532 P.2d 1366
Date decided 1975

Facts

The plaintiff was a social guest at the house of their friend, when they slipped on ice and fell. The ice was caused by water dripping from the roof onto the front steps and freezing. The landlord of the house is the defendant, and the plaintiff maintained that they had a duty to keep the premise in good repair.

Procedural History

Judgment for the defendant.

Issues

Whether landlord is liable for injuries on the premise of his leased land.

Holding

Not liable.

Judgment

Judgment affirmed.

Rule

The old rule is that the lessee acquires an estate in the land, and becomes for the time being the owner and occupier, subject to all the responsibilities of the one in possession. Therefore, there is generally no liability on the landlord, either to the tenants or to others entering the land, for defective conditions existing at the time of the lease.

Exceptions to the rule:

  • Undisclosed dangerous conditions known to the lessor and unknown to the lessee
  • Conditions dangerous to persons outside of the premises
  • Premises leased for admission of the public
  • Parts of land retained in lessor’s control which lessee is entitled to use
  • Where lessor contracts to repair
  • Negligence by lessor in making repairs
When the lessor attempts to make repairs and fails to exercise reasonable care, he is liable for injuries to persons on the premises if the tenant neither knows nor should know that the repairs have been negligently made. Here, the tenant had full knowledge of the icy condition.