DIEDRE BRADLEY VS. DYNAMIC CAPITAL PROPERTY(L-0246-14, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-4522-15T4

Plaintiff Diedre Bradley fell on cracked marble stairs in the common area of an East Orange apartment building managed by Dynamic Capital Property and allegedly owned by EO Lincoln Apartments, LLC (EO).
Bradley filed suit against Dynamic (January 2014); during discovery Dynamic identified EO as the owner (May 2015).
The statute of limitations for the claim expired January 16, 2016; the court extended discovery to March 22, 2016.
Dynamic moved for summary judgment (March 28, 2016); Bradley sought leave to amend the complaint to add EO after summary judgment was filed.
The trial court granted summary judgment for Dynamic and denied Bradley’s motion to amend; the Appellate Division affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Dynamic is liable for negligence for the stair defect	Dynamic, as property manager, owed duties under NJ regulations and thus can be liable without naming the owner	No evidence Dynamic had duties, notice, breach, or causation; manager not shown to have responsibility here	Court: No prima facie evidence of breach or proximate cause; summary judgment for Dynamic affirmed
Whether plaintiff may amend complaint post-SOL to add owner (EO)	Amendment should be allowed under fictitious-defendant rule and relate back; no prejudice to defendants	Plaintiff delayed despite knowing owner’s identity; adding EO after SOL prejudices defendants	Court: Denial of leave to amend not an abuse of discretion; amendment denied
Whether regulatory duties (N.J.A.C.) impose independent liability on manager	Manager’s regulatory duties create an independent duty to plaintiff	Plaintiff failed to produce evidence Dynamic assumed/responsibilities or had notice of defect	Court: No evidence Dynamic assumed duties or breached them; regulatory provisions insufficient without proof
Whether plaintiff’s delay caused prejudice making relation-back inappropriate	No actual prejudice shown; amendment would not unfairly surprise defendants	Delay exposed defendants to liability after SOL and impaired fairness; prejudice exists as a matter of law	Court: Prejudice from permitting an otherwise time-barred claim; denial appropriate

Graziano v. Grant, 326 N.J. Super. 328 (App. Div.) (summary judgment reviewed de novo)
Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520 (standard for summary judgment; evaluate evidence in light most favorable to nonmoving party)
Polzo v. Cty. of Essex, 196 N.J. 569 (elements required to sustain negligence claim)
Kernan v. One Washington Park, 154 N.J. 437 (late amendment allowed where defendant deliberately withheld owner identity)
Dwyer v. Skyline Apartments, Inc., 123 N.J. Super. 48 (App. Div.) (landlord/manager liable for defects they knew or should have known)
Mears v. Sandoz Pharm., Inc., 300 N.J. Super. 622 (App. Div.) (post‑statute amendment can prejudice defendant as a matter of law)