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Keeping in mind that:
? Slip & fall laws are pretty messy
? I'm not an attorney
? If I was an attorney, I wouldn't give out free legal advice via the Internet ;)

I did not say property owners are not required to maintain their sidewalks. What I said is that the city owns the sidewalk. It's an easement to adjacent property owners.

As best I can figure, there is a level of residential sidewalk immunity in NJ. E.g. if the sidewalk is broken and the city doesn't fix it (e.g. city-owned tree buckles the sidewalk), the adjacent property owner is not responsible. However, if the problem with the sidewalk is because the property owner is negligent (they fail to clear snow & ice), the property owner is likely liable.

Here's a typical writeup from an attorney's office on this clear-as-mud distinction:
http://www.chamlin-rosen.com/articles ... s-conditions-of-property/

In case you didn't read the article: A woman slipped and fell on a sidewalk in a 55+ community. She sued everyone possible (surprise!), including the Association, which owns the sidewalk. The Association claimed that because the public used the sidewalks, residential sidewalk immunity applies.

The court declared the immunity doesn't apply, even though the public may access those sidewalks, so she can sue. The ruling is in one sense narrow (it only applies to privately owned sidewalks in condo complexes) and broad in another (there are lots of those complexes in NJ, though not many in JC afaik).

Thus: If you don't clean up the snow/ice on your sidewalk and someone gets injured, you may be liable. That is just as true today as it was last week.

Honestly, I figured this was just common sense. I have to shovel the snow and maintain my sidewalk, I would only assume that whomever is in charge of maintaining the property around a condominium would do the same.

No, as the property owners adjacent to public sidewalks have a statutory duty to maintain them and clear them of snow.

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I don't think this makes as much of a difference as you think.

I'm pretty sure Jersey City owns the sidewalks. They're a public easement.

This will only make a difference for building complexes, where there are publicly accessible sidewalks inside that complex, owned by the complex.

Condo maintenance fees will be sky high in the next few years. As much as I see un-shoveled properties throughout NJ. No Thanks!

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I am not so sure he is responsible. I went through this 18 months ago, when we had that cold spate after the snowstorms (winter '14.) I was complaining about same. But, someone pointed out that technically, he isn't responsible for reasons not entirely clear. But, I do remember it was the city that reacted. Councilwoman Osbourne sent an alert to the guys at the incinerator or sanitation or whatever, and those guys came the next day (sort of.)

So can I take a dive in front of the embankment?

That dude has never once shoveled a foot of 6th St.

That's nice but it's important to point out that if the plaintiff is a homeowner within the community then they are essentially suing themselves since the plaintiff will be on the hook for their share of whatever cash has to be paid by the condo association including any legal defense fees.

Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that homeowners associations can be sued by people who are injured on sidewalks that are privately owned and maintained by the community.

In a 6-0 ruling, the state's highest court found that a woman injured after slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk within an adult community could file a personal injury lawsuit against the homeowners association, which charges its members monthly fees for services like snow and ice removal.

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