Property Owner Is Strictly Liable For Building Code Violation

The owner of a building open to public use will be strictly liable for damage or injury resulting from a code violation, under a decision issued by Massachusetts' highest court.  Overruling a 15-year precedent, the court held that strict liability is not limited to code violations affecting fire safety (the essence of a 1999 decision), but applies to any code violation of a building subject to public use. 

The case is Sheehan v. Weaver, decided on April 10, 2014 and available here (subscription required).  The inebriated plaintiff had leaned against a second-floor outdoor stair railing and was seriously injured when it gave way.  The railing did not comply with the state building code.  Sheehan sued, arguing that the language of a Massachusetts statute made the property owner strictly liable for any code violation, given the use of the word "building" in the following sentence: