Tagliere v. Western Springs Park District

944 N.E.2d 884, 408 Ill. App. 3d 235, 348 Ill. Dec. 643, 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 151
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided February 25, 2011·No. 1-09-2633·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE HOWSE

delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Presiding Justice Fitzgerald Smith and Justice Epstein concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

Plaintiff, Steven Tagliere, filed a complaint against the defendant, Western Springs Park District (hereinafter Park District), seeking damages for injuries his minor daughter, Taiylor, sustained while playing on a seesaw owned by the Park District. The circuit court of Cook County determined that the failure of a Park District employee to discover a defect in the seesaw during his regularly scheduled inspections did not constitute willful and wanton conduct and entered summary judgment in favor of the Park District. On appeal, Tagliere alleges the failure of the Park District to discover and correct a defect in the seesaw despite repeated inspections constituted willful and wanton conduct as a matter of law and the Park District had actual or constructive knowledge of the defect and the failure to correct the defect constituted willful and wanton conduct. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the decision of the circuit court. 1

BACKGROUND

In Tagliere’s third amended complaint, he alleges that Taiylor, age seven, sustained a broken ankle on February 9, 2006, while playing on a defective seesaw at a park owned by the Western Springs Park District. Tagliere alleges the manufacturer of the seesaw instructed the Park District on how to inspect and maintain the seesaw. Tagliere also alleges that the seesaw was visibly defective and the Park District’s failure to discover the defects on routine inspection and make repairs constituted willful and wanton conduct.

In a discovery deposition, John R. Gleason, the owner of NuToys Leisure Products, Inc., testified that the Park District purchased the seesaw from his company in 1991. The seesaw was manufactured by Landscape Structures, Inc., which sends maintenance information directly to the purchasers of the equipment.

Gleason testified that the center of the seesaw has a coil that is attached to the seesaw by four spring clamps held together by four bolts. If the clamps are missing, the seesaw will go up and down farther than it should and a “pinch point” will be created. Gleason testified that a pinch point is a space between two hard objects where a user can become injured.

Gleason testified he inspected the seesaw after the accident and observed it was in disrepair but could not determine for how long. He observed that the spring clamps were not in place, only one of four bolts was in place but was not fastened, and parts of the seesaw contained rust. Gleason testified that the defects in the seesaw were obvious.

Michele Tagliere, Taiylor’s mother, testified in a discovery deposition that prior to her daughter’s accident, she was not aware of any accidents on the seesaw at the park. On the day of the accident, Michele received a call from Taiylor’s school informing her that Taiylor had been injured. Michele went to the school, heard Taiylor screaming, and observed Taiylor’s left ankle to be severely injured. Michele called 911 and Taiylor was taken to the hospital. Michele later learned from a neighbor that Taiylor’s injury occurred on the seesaw.

The next morning doctors performed a closed reduction on the broken bones in Taiylor’s left ankle. Taiylor was placed in a cast on her left side from her toes up to her waist. Taiylor wore the cast for approximately two months. Taiylor was unable to attend school for approximately two months.

Tagliere testified in a discovery deposition that on the day of Taiylor’s accident, he was called to the hospital where he observed Taiylor in the emergency room, heavily medicated, and with her leg in a splint.

Tagliere testified that he was not aware of any complaints about the condition of the seesaw at the park prior to the accident. Tagliere testified that he was aware of complaints regarding playground equipment in other parks prior to the accident but was not aware of any injuries as a result of defective playground equipment.

Tagliere took photographs and video of the seesaw after the accident. At that time, he observed that bolts were missing on the springs of the seesaw but he does not know for how long.

Taiylor testified in a discovery deposition that when the accident happened, five other girls were on the seesaw and she was sitting in a middle seat. Taiylor testified that while the girls rode up and down on the seesaw she was swinging her left foot when she felt pain and fell off the seesaw. Her left ankle was caught in the seesaw and she managed to pull it out. Taiylor testified that a “lunch dad” picked her up and a “lunch mom” held her foot.

Taiylor testified that she observed a bolt on the ground by the seesaw prior to her accident. She left the bolt by the seesaw and did not show it to anyone or report it to anyone.

Taiylor testified that she currently feels pain when she plays sports and trips over her left foot when she is running.

Dennis Conway, Western Springs Park District foreman, testified in a discovery deposition that he inspects the playground equipment in 12 village parks once a month. Conway observes each piece of equipment for breaks and wear. If a defect is discovered, the equipment is shut down until it is repaired. Conway keeps a file on each park containing all the original documents that came with each piece of playground equipment, including orders for new parts.

Conway, who has attended classes on playground safety, including instruction on how to inspect playground equipment, testified he had inspected the seesaw at the park both before and after the accident.

Conway viewed photos of the seesaw taken shortly after the accident and observed from the photos that bolts and clamps on the seesaw were missing. Conway testified that when he inspects the seesaw he uses a checklist provided by the manufacturer. He sits on either side of the seesaw and pushes up and down, side to side, “to make sure it looks like it’s acting the way it’s suppose to perform and then [I] check the handheld rails, all of them, check all of the footrests, and I’ll move the seats.”

Conway inspected the seesaw approximately two weeks before the accident, on January 25, 2006. He also inspected it after the accident and did not observe any defects. The seesaw was eventually removed to a Park District garage where Conway participated in its repair, including adding brackets to the top of the coils. Conway is not aware of any problems with the seesaw since it was repaired. Conway also has no opinion as to how Taiylor’s accident occurred.

On cross-examination, Conway testified that he is not aware of any complaints regarding the seesaw prior to the accident. He also testified that he was not aware that the seesaw was missing the brackets on top of the coils or any bolts at the time of the accident or even that the seesaw needed brackets on its top. He testified that he did not have a sufficient understanding of the design of the seesaw to determine that it was missing bolts and clamps.

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Tagliere v. Western Springs Park District, 944 N.E.2d 884, 408 Ill. App. 3d 235, 348 Ill. Dec. 643, 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 151 (Ill. Ct. App. 2011).

944 N.E.2d 884 (Tagliere v. Western Springs Park District) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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