Sargent v. Ross,

308 A.2d 528 (1973)

Facts

D resided in a ground floor apartment, and her son and daughter in law occupied a second story apartment serviced by a stairway. P's four year of daughter fell from the stairway while under the care of D. At the time of the accident, the child was under the care of D's daughter in law who was P's regular babysitter. P sued the daughter in law for negligent supervision and D for negligent construction and maintenance of the stairway. There was no evidence of the apparent cause for the fall other than that the stairs were dangerously steep and that the railing was insufficient to prevent the child from falling over the side. The jury exonerated the daughter in law but found in favor of P against D. D excepted to the denial of her motions for a nonsuit, directed verdict, judgment n.o.v., and to have the verdict set aside.