Woman blames property owner for fall while viewing apartment for rent

A woman is suing a Chicago property owner, claiming she was injured while being shown an apartment for rent.

Joyce Lawless filed a lawsuit July 10 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Urban Communities LLC, alleging premises liability.

According to the complaint, Lawless was being shown an apartment for rent by an employee of Urban Communities on West Monroe in Chicago on Aug. 2, when she tripped on rocks on the steel steps at the back of the premises and fell.

She accuses the defendant of negligence and failing to remove the rocks after children playing placed the rocks there or not warning visitors of the dangerous condition.

Lawless is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and is being represented in the case by attorney David M. Sternberg of Sachs, Earnest & Associates Ltd. in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L007263.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.