77 Pa. Super. 438 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1921
Opinion by
Appellant presents two assignments: the first to the refusal of binding instructions; the second to the refusal of judgment n. o. v. The questions of negligence and contributory negligence arising on the evidence were submitted to the jury in a charge of which no complaint is made. The verdict determines that plaintiff’s injury was caused by defendant’s breach of duty, and as there is evidence to support the verdict, we may not interfere. Our question is whether the law permits recovery.
Defendant’s premises in Pittsburgh were used as a tenement house within the provisions of the Act of March 25, 1903, P. L. 54. Section 1 defines a tenement house as “any house or building or portion thereof, which is: (a) intended or designated to be occupied, or (b)
Appellant says the judgment should not be sustained because “A property owner can only be liable for some act of negligence or failure to perform some duty which she would owe to the plaintiff as licensee, and......in this case she owed no duty to plaintiff......The owner
Tbe contention is inapplicable; it disregards tbe positive provisions of tbe statute in tbe circumstances disclosed by tbis record. Nor does tbis record require us to consider tbe different and changing views reported in cases growing out of entry upon lands of another; they have recently been set forth in 69 U. P. L. R. 142, 237 and 340; see also R. C. L. sections 51 to 61. We are dealing with a statutory duty imposed in tbe exercise of tbe police power upon a tenement-house owner, with nonperformance of that duty, and with resulting injury; such breaches of duty create liability: Drake v. Fenton, 237 Pa. 8, and cases cited page 11; see also Beach v. Hyman, 254 Pa. 131, 134 to 136.
Tbe judgment is affirmed.