If someone gets hurt on your property does every building code violation come in as evidence of negligence? A recently decided Massachusetts case Sheehan v Weaver 467 Mass 734 (2014) considered the question and said it depends on the commercial or residential characteristics of the part of the property involved.

William Sheehan lived in a rented apartment over a store. The railing just outside his apartment gave way, he got hurt and sued. A Massachusetts law MGL c 143 section 51 says that owners of property are strictly liable if State Building Code violations cause injuries but the law limits its reach to “a place of assembly, theater, special hall, pubic hall, factory, workshop, manufacturing establishment or building”.

The Court decided that the law was meant to protect places where “a large number of people gather for occupational, entertainment or other purposes”. In Sheehan’s case the landing outside his 2nd floor apartment door was not a place for public assembly. The statute did not apply to that part of the mixed use commercial/ residential structure.

The strict liability law can apply to a portion of a larger structure (where a “significant number” of people gather) but sadly for Sheehan, his negligence case needed proof more proof of the landlord’s negligence than just the State Building code railing violation.