This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Ralph Mahoney (P), a seven-year-old boy was injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapsed and fell in him. The retaining wall had been built in the parking lot adjacent to the leased premises that P's uncle had been leasing. The parking lot where the wall was built was owned by the District of Columbia. The lease of that lot did not obligate the landlord to make repairs, and there was no statute imposing that duty on the landlord. P contends that because D built the wall for the benefit of her property was under a duty to maintain it in a safe condition and that she was negligent in that duty and liable in damages to the invitee. The District was charged with permitting the structure to be built and negligently failing to keep it in repair.

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