Heynen v. Fairbanks, 293 P.3d 470

Heynen fell on exterior stairs of rented apartment; a stair broke, allegedly due to landlord’s failure to inspect/maintain per AS 34.03.100.
Litigation named Leslie and Julene Fairbanks; Julene was the upstairs tenant/landlord in the incident; Kosters (contractor) testified via deposition after his death.
Heynen alleged negligence per se and negligent maintenance, seeking damages and costs; defendants asserted comparative negligence and other defenses.
Superior Court denied Heynen’s discovery sanctions/motions in limine to bar undisclosed evidence; trial proceeded to jury.
Trial resulted in a no-negligence verdict for all parties on the verdict form; Heynen appeals denials of motions and the Kosters allocation; overall judgment affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did the verdict violate the weight of the evidence?	Heynen argues Julene’s breach caused injuries.	Julene contends there was conflicting evidence; jury could reasonably find no negligence.	No; reasonable jurors could find no negligence.
Did the court abuse its discretion denying discovery/motions in limine 2 and 4?	Heynen argues undisclosed evidence should be barred.	Julene argues no specific failure to disclose; sanctions not warranted.	No abuse of discretion.
Was the comparative-negligence instruction properly submitted?	Heynen claims instruction confused jury and was improper given lack of her negligence.	Kosters argues for comparative fault and allows jury to allocate.	Properly submitted; jury could infer Heynen’s contributory negligence.
Was it proper to allocate fault to Kosters for the stairs' condition?	Heynen argues Kosters was not negligent and should not bear fault.	Kosters may have contributed to condition; jury could allocate fault.	Not error; jury could find Kosters negligent or not; allocation permissible.
Is the medical-records admission issue moot?	Admission of prior records could influence causation/damages if negligence found.	verdict found no negligence, so moot.	Moot; no further consideration.

Bolden v. City of Kodiak, 439 P.2d 796 (Alaska 1968) (test for sufficiency of evidence; court reviews weight of evidence post-verdict)
Jakoski v. Holland, 520 P.2d 569 (Alaska 1974) (sufficiency review when no directed verdict/JNOV filed)
Korean Air Lines Co. v. State, 779 P.2d 333 (Alaska 1989) (jury verdict review; deference to jury on negligence questions)
Maddox v. River & Sea Marine, Inc., 925 P.2d 1033 (Alaska 1996) (elusive nature of negligence; reasonableness in conduct assessment)
Parker Drilling Co. v. O’Neill, 674 P.2d 770 (Alaska 1983) (employer/independent contractor liability; fault allocation)