Williams v. Melby

Williams (plaintiff) leased an apartment from the Melbys (defendants). The bedroom windows protruded into the room, and the window sill sat only 22 inches above the floor. One night Williams woke abruptly, became disoriented, stepped out of bed, stumbled into the knee-level sill, and fell through the window three stories to the ground, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She sued the Melbys, and the trial court granted them summary judgment; she petitioned the Utah Supreme Court for certiorari.

Whether a landlord owes a tenant a duty to use reasonable care to provide safe premises, such that fact questions about that duty preclude summary judgment.