NJ Businesses Can Be Sued for Injuries on Empty Lot Sidewalks

New Jersey businesses can be liable for pedestrians who injure themselves walking on shoddy sidewalks outside of closed stores or vacant lots, the state’s high court ruled Thursday.

The loss for business—especially firms with big real estate footprints—places the burden on companies to repair cracks, dips, holes, and defects in sidewalks or face consequences in court because all property owners have a duty to maintain the public sidewalks in “reasonably good condition,” the court said in a rare split 4-3 decision.

“Over the course of a century, this Court’s jurisprudence regarding public sidewalk liability has evolved with the times ...