Elizabeth Pastor Bacak, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Joseph Hogya, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the judgment for the plaintiff, holding that an independent contractor owes a duty of care to third persons lawfully on the premises and may be liable for negligence independent of any contractual privity. The court found sufficient evidence that the contractor breached that duty, that the breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's fall, and that contributory negligence was a factual issue for the jury.