Williams v. Melby

699 P.2d 723 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Williams (P) and her husband moved into Cambridge Apartments in 1980. The owners were Melby (D). The apartments were constructed by Trayner, a general contractor. P's apartment was on the third story and because of the design; the outside wall of P's bedroom slopes inward and the bedroom window stands out from the wall and protrudes into the room. The glass part of the window is 22 inches off the floor. P inspected the premises a number of times but discovered that her king size bed could only be located such that a person arising from it would be next to the window. On January 1981, P arose from the bed disoriented, stumbled and fell through the closed window three stories to the ground suffering permanent paralysis from the waist down. P sued D and Trayner. Ds moved for summary judgment. P submitted an affidavit of an architect that stated the design of the window, created an unreasonable risk to an occupant's safety. The trial court granted Ds motions. P appealed.