Landowner Liability for Predecessor's Defective Retaining Wall Collapse

A lower court ruled that a landowner was liable for damages caused to a neighboring property by the collapse of a retaining wall, despite the wall being built decades earlier by the predecessor in title, based on the finding that the wall was built without proper permits and was inherently unstable. The high court quashed the decision, reasoning that while the owner of land on which a structure stands is generally responsible for its upkeep and the resulting damage from its collapse, liability cannot be imposed based solely on the age or initial improper construction of the wall, as the current owner did not cause the defect and there was no finding that the collapse was due to the current owner's failure to maintain the wall after acquiring the property.