Kurt Krauss (Partner-Madison, NJ) and Kristine Pegno (Of Counsel-Madison, NJ) defended a property owner in a case involving a claim for injury resulting from a fall on premises owned by the client, who had leased the property under the terms of a triple net lease to the tenant, including a provision that all maintenance and repairs were the responsibility of the tenant. The plaintiff was working on the subject premises as a truck driver at the time of his accident and had already brought a workers’ compensation claim against his employer when he separately sued our client. The initial summary judgment motion was denied based on what the judge found to be an issue of fact regarding whether there was one or more lessees under the master lease agreement. Following additional discovery and several other related motions, the motion for summary judgment was refiled. Based on the fully developed record, Union County Superior Court found that the terms of the lease placed all responsibility for maintenance and repair on the tenant and that, under such circumstances, the property owner owed no duty to the plaintiff as a matter of law. The court separately granted Summary Judgment as to Count II of the Complaint, which was a negligent construction claim, finding that the plaintiff’s admissions in discovery about the location of his fall rendered the claim legally untenable. As such, this was a terrific win for our client!