On July 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in granting defendant landlord’s motion for summary judgment by a 5-2 vote (reversing a unanimous decision of the Appellate Division), held that, because a radiator is not within the control of the landlord, and is not part of an apartment’s heating system, the landlord is not required to cover it. The case arose out of a March 30, 2010, accident in which a nine-month old infant fell out of a bed next to an uncovered radiator, was scalded and sustained permanent scars from third degree burns on his head, cheek, and arm. J.H.v. R & M Tagliareni, ___ N.J.___ (2019); 2019 WL 3433062.
One of the issues forming the basis of the decision was who controlled the radiator’s temperature. The boiler that supplied the heat to the steam-heated radiator was in a locked room in the basement that was in the exclusive control of the landlord. The apartment did not have a thermostat to allow a tenant to set a specific temperature; it only had an on-off valve.
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