Summary
The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment in favor of Caddo Community Action Agency, Inc. and GuideOne Specialty Insurance Company in a premises-liability action arising from Tammey Webber’s trip and fall on a sidewalk. The court held that Webber failed to establish both that the sidewalk cracks constituted an unreasonably dangerous defect and that the defendants knew or should have known of such a condition. The court also rejected arguments concerning an allegedly unstable bollard and the defendants’ failure to report the condition to the City of Shreveport.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether summary judgment was proper on Webber's premises-liability claim where the evidence showed that CCAA knew of cracks in the sidewalk but did not know that they constituted an unreasonably dangerous condition.
- Whether CCAA's alleged knowledge of sidewalk cracks, failure to report the condition to the City, and the condition of the bollard created genuine issues of material fact concerning defect and notice.
Holdings
- Summary judgment was proper because Webber failed to establish evidence that the sidewalk cracks or bollard constituted an unreasonably dangerous defect and failed to establish that CCAA knew or should have known of such a defect.
- CCAA's acknowledgment that cracks existed did not establish either an unreasonably dangerous defect or notice of such a defect, and CCAA had no duty to report an unreasonably dangerous condition that the evidence did not establish.
- The bollard-related assignments of error did not preclude summary judgment because the trial court's decision rested on lack of notice, and Webber failed to establish notice of an unreasonably dangerous condition.
Key quotations
“To recover for damages caused by a defective thing, a plaintiff must prove that the thing was in defendant’s custody, that the thing contained a defect, that this defective condition caused damage, and that defendant knew or should have known of the defect.” (at 4-5)
“Knowledge of a condition is not the same as knowledge of an unreasonably dangerous condition.” (at 8)
“A crack in a sidewalk does not become a defect under La. C.C. art. 2317.1 until it becomes unreasonably dangerous in normal use.” (at 8)
Factual background
On October 21, 2021, Tammey Webber fell while walking with children on a public sidewalk in front of the C.E. Galloway Head Start Center in Shreveport. She alleged that an uneven area or hole in the sidewalk caused her to lose balance and that a nearby bollard came loose when she grabbed it. Caddo Community Action Agency's representative acknowledged that the sidewalk had cracks, but the record showed no prior falls or complaints at the location, and the court found no evidence that CCAA knew the cracks constituted an unreasonably dangerous condition.
Procedural history
Webber filed a damages petition against Caddo Community Action Agency, GuideOne, and the City of Shreveport after falling on an uneven sidewalk area and allegedly grabbing a loose bollard. Caddo and GuideOne moved for summary judgment, supported by evidence that there were no prior incidents or complaints and no unreasonably dangerous condition. The trial court granted the motion, and the Louisiana Second Circuit affirmed at Webber's cost.