Sandra Neindorf v Marta Junkovic No. Scciv-03-1755

The matter before the Magistrate was an action for damages brought by the plaintiff, Sandra Neindorf, against the defendant, Marta Junkovic. The plaintiff sought compensation for injuries she sustained after stumbling on uneven concrete slabs at the defendant's property during a garage sale. The defendant, who was the owner and occupier of the property, advertised the garage sale through a publication, inviting members of the public to attend. The plaintiff attended the sale on 5th February 2000 and, while walking along the driveway, she stumbled over uneven concrete slabs, resulting in an injury to her right foot.

The primary legal issue before the Magistrate was whether the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and if this duty was breached, causing the plaintiff's injury. The Magistrate needed to determine if the unevenness of the concrete slabs constituted a hazard that the defendant should have reasonably foreseen as posing a risk to attendees, particularly given the distractions of the displayed goods. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the unevenness was a known defect that should have been rectified by the defendant prior to the garage sale.

The Magistrate found that the defendant did owe a duty of care to the plaintiff and that this duty was breached. The unevenness between the concrete slabs was identified as a hazard that the defendant should have been aware of, given their long-term occupancy of the property. The court held that the presence of displayed goods to the right of the driveway, which distracted attendees, increased the duty of care owed to them. The Magistrate concluded that it was reasonably foreseeable that the unevenness posed a risk to those attending the garage sale, and the defendant failed to mitigate this risk. Consequently, the Magistrate awarded the plaintiff damages in the sum of $24,464.00.