Trespasser Status Bars Recovery in Premises Liability Claim: Appellate Division Affirms Summary Judgment for Defendants

The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendants, including the Estate of Nancy Votra, Bank of New York Mellon, Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC and Cyprexx Services, LLC, in a premises liability action arising from injuries sustained during a property inspection. The property was subject to foreclosure proceedings, and warning signs indicated it was private and not open to entry. Nevertheless, the plaintiff, Konstantine Zografos, was injured when a step collapsed while he was inspecting the property on behalf of Noble Group, LLC.

The trial court granted summary judgment to the estate, finding that Zografos entered the property without permission and was, therefore, a trespasser to whom the defendants owed only a limited duty of care. That reasoning was later extended to all remaining defendants.

On appeal, the plaintiffs argued that summary judgment was premature and that factual disputes existed regarding Zografos’s legal status on the property and the foreseeability of his presence.

The Appellate Division rejected these arguments, holding that Zografos was a trespasser as a matter of law and that the defendants owed only a duty to refrain from willful injury. The court found no evidence of willful injury or prior knowledge of trespassers, noting that the estate had posted no trespassing signs after eviction proceedings. The court also concluded that additional discovery would not have altered the outcome, affirming summary judgment in full.