Sikora v. Wenzel
Ohio Supreme Court
727 N.E.2d 1277 (1995)
A condominium deck collapsed at a party, injuring Sikora (plaintiff), and an investigation found the deck violated Ohio Basic Building Code requirements dating back to construction, when the original developer had received a certificate of occupancy based on promised (but never inspected or verified) design modifications; current owner Wenzel (defendant), who bought the building after construction and had no knowledge of the defect, was sued for negligence, and the trial court granted him summary judgment based on lack of notice, but the court of appeals reversed, treating the code violation as imposing strict liability without any notice requirement.
Whether a landlord's liability for negligence per se based on a building-code violation may be excused by the landlord's lack of actual or constructive notice of the defective condition.