PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia apartment tenant who sued a quartet of real estate defendants for damages in claiming that a deteriorated wall in his residence collapsed on and injured him won his case in arbitration, to the tune of $25,000.
On April 22, a report and arbitrators’ award was found in favor of plaintiff Michael Ray, after a hearing that same day in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Arbitration Center, on JFK Boulevard in Center City, Philadelphia. The report added the defendants were held jointly and severally liable in the case.
Ray initially filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on June 12, 2018, versus MBEN Real Estate, Inc., Sheffa, LLC and Yehuda Cohen, all of Philadelphia, and EY Realty, Inc. of Huntingdon Valley.
On June 20, 2016, Ray claimed he was injured by a deteriorated brick wall and/or structure located at or near the exterior of the premises on Whitby Avenue, a condition that was allegedly allowed to remain at the aforesaid location for an unreasonable period of time. The suit said that the wall collapsed and fell onto the plaintiff.
Ray alleged he suffered disc injuries, nerve damage, right knee sprain and strain, right thigh contusion, lumbar strain and sprain, as well as other injuries as may be diagnosed by plaintiff’s health care providers, all of which injuries have in the past, and may in the future, cause plaintiff great pain and suffering.
The plaintiff claimed the defendants failed to warn of the dangerous condition, failed to inspect the premises at reasonable intervals to determine the condition thereof, failed to repair and/or replace the aforesaid condition and permitted a highly-dangerous condition to exist for an unreasonable length of time, in addition to other charges.
For negligence and prior to arbitration, the plaintiff had been seeking damages, jointly and/or severally, not in excess of the arbitration limits, plus interests and costs.
The plaintiff was represented by Casey O. Srogoncik of Clearfield & Kofsky, in Philadelphia.
The defendants did not have listed counsel of record.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 180601243
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com