Wells Fargo Bank owed a duty of care to a prospective homebuyer who was injured when she tripped on a piece of broken glass while viewing a foreclosed house owned by the bank, a federal judge in Newark has ruled.

Defendant Wells Fargo argued that it had no relationship with the homebuyer, that it had no knowledge of the broken glass that was said to have caused the accident and that requiring owners of foreclosed properties to conduct daily inspections would set a dangerous precedent.