Matthew Rexroad v. City of Springfield

Summary

The Illinois Supreme Court held that section 3-106 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act did not immunize the City of Springfield and a school board from negligence liability for a hazardous condition in a school parking lot. The parking lot served the entire school and was not property intended or permitted to be used for recreational purposes merely because it provided access to a football practice field. The court also held that summary judgment was inappropriate under the open-and-obvious-condition doctrine because the plaintiff's distraction and the defendants' failure to maintain barricades could support a duty of care.

Holdings

1. Section 3-106 immunity did not apply because the parking lot served the entire school and any recreational use associated with the football practice field was merely incidental.
2. The alleged open and obvious nature of the hole did not preclude a duty because it was reasonably foreseeable that Rexroad's attention could be distracted, bringing the case within the distraction exception.

Questions Presented

1. Whether section 3-106 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act immunized defendants from liability for an injury occurring in a school parking lot that served the entire school but also provided access to a football practice field.
2. Whether the alleged open and obvious nature of the hole precluded defendants from owing Rexroad a duty of reasonable care under the distraction exception.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded