Remember :You Can’t Sue for Injuries Incurred while Picking Pumpkins

:31-2-3987 Gronwald v. Modica, App. Div. (Buchsbaum, J.S.C.) (5 pp.) Plaintiff arrived at defendant’s farm to pick pumpkins when, due to the morning dew or frost on the grass, she slipped and fell. Plaintiff seeks damages for her injuries. In his motion for summary judgment, defendant contends that he is immune from liability pursuant to the farmers immunity statute. Plaintiffs oppose the summary judgment motion asserting that defendant owes a separate legal duty to provide a reasonably safe means of ingress and egress for business invitees. Here, Mrs. Gronwald entered defendant’s land for the purpose of picking pumpkins. Pumpkins, as horticultural products, fall within the purview of the statute. It is natural in the course of pumpkin-picking for patrons to park their vehicles and walk across the land to reach the farm. Further, dew and frost is a natural condition of the land. Thus, immunity applies because plaintiff’s entry on the land was for horticultural purposes as her injury resulted from a natural condition of the land. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted.

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