Jury Sides with JPD Properties in LaFountain Injury Case

Case Background

On February 10, 2021, James J. LaFountain went to 736 Enfield Street in Enfield, Connecticut, a commercial property owned and operated by JPD Properties, LLC. According to his complaint, he entered the premises lawfully as a business invitee. While attempting to climb the front stairs, he fell forward when one of the steps gave way beneath him.

LaFountain claimed the stairs had been in poor condition, with crumbling concrete and a lack of repair. He accused JPD Properties of neglecting basic maintenance, despite being responsible for the safety of the exterior premises. His fall, he said, triggered a series of devastating injuries that would forever change his health and quality of life.

James’s wife, Janet, joined the lawsuit, alleging that her husband’s injuries robbed her of his companionship, assistance, and the everyday comforts of married life. Together, the LA Fountains brought the case against JPD Properties in Hartford Superior Court in January 2022.

The Heart of the Case

The heart of the case lay in whether JPD Properties had acted negligently in maintaining the stairs. James argued that the Defendant had failed to inspect the steps, repair damaged concrete, or provide warnings of the unsafe condition. In his view, the accident was not a fluke but the foreseeable result of a long-standing defect that had gone unaddressed.

His complaint listed several failings: neglecting routine inspections, ignoring the need for concrete repair, failing to ensure a safe entrance, and permitting the dangerous stairs to exist unchecked. Each of these alleged lapses, he claimed, contributed to the fall.

JPD Properties answered with denials and raised a special defense. The company insisted that James himself bore responsibility. They argued that he failed to watch where he stepped, did not use reasonable care, and neglected to avoid what he claimed was a visible hazard. The defense suggest