Larson v. City of Chicago

491 N.E.2d 165, 142 Ill. App. 3d 81, 96 Ill. Dec. 351, 58 A.L.R. 4th 1189, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2029
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 24, 1986
Docket85-1341
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 491 N.E.2d 165 (Larson v. City of Chicago) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Larson v. City of Chicago, 491 N.E.2d 165, 142 Ill. App. 3d 81, 96 Ill. Dec. 351, 58 A.L.R. 4th 1189, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2029 (Ill. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

This negligence action arose when plaintiff, Jacquelynne Larson, was injured while roller skating on a public sidewalk in a residential neighborhood in Chicago. Her complaint alleged that defendant, city of Chicago, negligently failed to maintain, repair or inspect the sidewalk in question. Pursuant to defendant’s motion, the trial court dismissed her complaint for failure to state a cause of action. Plaintiff now appeals. We reverse and remand.

When reviewing the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint, all well-pleaded facts are taken as true. (Palatine National Bank v. Charles W. Greengard Associates, Inc. (1983), 119 Ill. App. 3d 376, 378, 456 N.E.2d 635 ) A cause of action should not be dismissed on the pleadings unless it clearly appears that no set of facts can be proved which will entitle plaintiff to recover. Resag v. Washington National Insurance Co. (1980), 90 Ill. App. 3d 971, 973, 414 N.E.2d 107.

Initially, defendant contends that it has no duty to maintain its sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition for roller skating. A duty is an obligation imposed by law which requires one to conform to a certain standard of conduct for the protection of another against an unreasonable risk. (Fancil v. Q.S.E. Foods, Inc. (1975), 60 Ill. 2d 552, 328 N.E.2d 538; Barnes v. Washington (1973), 56 Ill. 2d 22, 26, 305 N.E.2d 535.) The liability of a municipal corporation is governed by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 85, pars. 1 — 101 through 10 — 101 (hereinafter cited as Governmental Tort Immunity Act).) Section 3 — 102(a) of this act provides:

“Except as otherwise provided in this Article, a local public entity has the duty to exercise ordinary care to maintain its property in a reasonably safe condition for the use in the exercise of ordinary care of people whom the entity intended and permitted to use the property in a manner in which and at such times as it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used *** if

The Governmental Tort Immunity Act essentially continued the common law duties of a municipality with respect to the maintenance of its public ways. Warchol v. City of Chicago (1979), 75 Ill. App. 3d 289, 294, 393 N.E.2d 725.

Under common law principles, it has long been held that a municipality is required to maintain its streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition for the amount and kind of travel which may be fairly expected upon them. (City of Chicago v. Keefe (1885), 114 Ill. 222, 2 N.E. 267; Warchol v. City of Chicago (1979), 75 Ill. App. 3d 289, 393 N.E.2d 725. However, “the law does not exact of a municipality the duty of keeping all sidewalks in perfect condition at all times, and slight inequalities in level, or other minor defects frequently found in traversed areas are not actionable.” (Arvidson v. City of Elmhurst (1957), 11 Ill. 2d 601, 604, 145 N.E.2d 105.) While these principles have primarily been applied in the context of pedestrians injured by a defect in a sidewalk (see Olson v. Village of Oak Lawn (1982), 104 Ill. App. 3d 501, 503, 432 N.E.2d 1120, appeal denied (1982), 91 Ill. 2d 560), they have also been applied in cases involving bicyclists (Molway v. City of Chicago (1908), 144 Ill. App. 509, affirmed (1909), 239 Ill. 486), children at play (City of Chicago v. Keefe (1885), 114 Ill. 222, 2 N.E. 267; Casey v. City of Chicago (1914), 189 Ill. App. 188), and physically handicapped persons (City of Fulton v. Green (1902), 103 Ill. App. 96; see generally 9 Ill. L. & Prac. Cities, Villages, & Other Municipal Corporations sec. 525 (1954 and 1985 Supp.)). No Illinois decision has involved a person injured while roller skating on a public sidewalk.

However, the duties of a municipality with respect to a minor injured while riding a skateboard on a municipal sidewalk were examined in Olson v. Village of Oak Lawn (1982), 104 Ill. App. 3d 501, 432 N.E.2d 1120. There, the court held that “a municipality owes no duty regarding sidewalk conditions when injuries result from a skateboard upon the sidewalk.” (104 Ill. App. 3d 501, 505, 432 N.E.2d 1120.) In reaching its decision, the Olson court relied in part on Cygielman v. City of New York (1978), 93 Misc. 2d 232, 402 N.Y.S.2d 539. The New York court in Cygielman held that the city owed no duty to make its sidewalks safe for skateboards which were found to be inherently dangerous because of the extra degree of speed which can be attained by such devices and the limited amount of control which can be exercised. (93 Misc. 2d 232, 236, 402 N.Y.S.2d 539, 542.) The court in Olson also relied upon a decision by a New York trial court in Errante v. City of New York (1979), 98 Misc. 2d 896, 414 N.Y.S.2d 603. The New York trial court in Errante expressly distinguished the use of roller skates from “a skateboard, sled, bicycle or other user-propelled coasting device,” and held that there was a municipal duty to maintain sidewalks in proper condition for use of persons traveling on roller skates because of the long history of such use. 98 Misc. 2d 896, 897-98, 414 N.Y.S.2d 603, 604.

Since Olson was decided, the law in New York has evolved. The lower court decision in Errante was affirmed by the New York appellate division, but on different grounds. (74 App. Div. 2d 122, 123, 427 N.Y.S.2d 18, 19.) In particular, the appellate division in Errante refused to distinguish between roller skaters, persons on skateboards, bicyclists, and other users of city sidewalks. (74 App. Div. 2d 122, 123, 427 N.Y.S.2d 18, 19.) Instead, the liability of the city was tested by the same rule that would apply if the plaintiff had been walking and then had been injured. (74 App. Div. 2d 122, 124, 427 N.Y.S.2d 18, 19.) The appellate court in Errante stated:

“We do not hold that the city has an obligation to keep its sidewalks safe for roller skating, as such, but only to maintain them in a reasonably safe condition for all reasonably foreseeable uses. [Citation.] Plaintiff is entitled to recover if the condition is found to be dangerous to all persons passing, whether walking or skating.” (74 App. Div. 2d 122, 125, 427 N.Y.S.2d 18, 20.)

The rule in Errante was subsequently followed in New York in a case involving a bicyclist. Muallem v. City of New York (1981), 82 App. Div. 2d 420, 441 N.Y.S.2d 834, affirmed (1982), 56 N.Y.2d 866, 453 N.Y.S.2d 427, 438 N.E.2d 1142.

We believe that the rationale of the New York appellate court in Errante is sound, and we adopt it in the instant case.

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Bluebook (online)
491 N.E.2d 165, 142 Ill. App. 3d 81, 96 Ill. Dec. 351, 58 A.L.R. 4th 1189, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/larson-v-city-of-chicago-illappct-1986.