The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that all commercial landowners — including owners of vacant commercial lots — have a duty to maintain the public sidewalks abutting their property in reasonably good condition and are liable to pedestrians injured as a result of their negligent failure to do so.
The high court created a new rule that it explained is guided by the principle of fairness and that no longer treats vacant properties differently than those with structures or active businesses.
“There is something profoundly un