Rosen

Petitioners Sam Rosen and Esther Rosen seek by writ of review to annul an award of respondent commission in favor of James Leffew, hereinafter referred to as applicant.

Applicant and his wife were tenants in a six-unit apartment building allegedly owned by petitioners. Several months after commencement of their tenancy, applicant and Mr. Rosen entered into an agreement whereby applicant and his wife were to perform certain services upon the premises in consideration of a $25 per month credit allowance on their apartment rental of $85 per month. Their duties included mowing and watering the lawn, taking out the trash on pickup days, receiving rental payments from certain tenants, and showing apartments to prospective tenants when vacancies existed. It was agreed that either applicant or his wife would be on the premises until 6 p.m. each day to receive complaints from tenants and until 10 p.m. whenever there was a vacancy in the building.

On February 23, 1963, at about 8 p.m., applicant fell and injured his arm while descending an outside stairway which led from the second floor where his apartment was located. At the time he was injured, no vacancy had existed for several months…