Benham v. Morton & Furbish Agency

Kathleen Benham (plaintiff) and her family rented a Maine cottage owned by the Carons but arranged through Morton & Furbish Agency (defendant), a real estate agency the Carons had hired to sell the property while permitting short-term rentals. Benham's sister booked the two-week stay sight-unseen after her originally chosen cottage fell through, and Morton & Furbish unilaterally substituted this cottage, supplied linens, arranged trash removal, and collected sales tax on the stay. Benham was injured falling from a homemade attic ladder that lacked guardrails, and sued the Carons and Morton & Furbish for negligent design and a dangerous condition on the property. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, ruling that a landlord-tenant relationship existed and that landlords are not liable for defects in areas within a tenant's exclusive control.