West v. Provo City Corporation

495 P.2d 1251, 27 Utah 2d 306, 1972 Utah LEXIS 974

• Court: Utah Supreme Court
• Decided: March 29, 1972
• Docket: 12644
• Status: Published

Opinions

HENRIOD, Justice.

Appeal from a no cause of action summary judgment in favor of the City, on timely motion made therefor by the City. Affirmed.

Plaintiff alleged that while walking on a snow-covered sidewalk she slipped and fell, asking damages for injuries sustained on account of the City’s “negligence . in allowing accumulation of ice on a sidewalk located in the business section ..” No specific act of negligence other than the alleged accumulation was evidenced by affidavit or otherwise.

Plaintiff urged that statutory sanction to regulate sidewalks ¹ gave the City no agency by ordinance² to delegate its authority to maintain sidewalks to abutting owners. This may be true, but that fact is not of controlling moment here, and we need not decide that point. The authorities generally ³ and we particularly ⁴ adhere to the principle that a city is not liable for injuries occurring on sidewalks caused by natural accumulation of falling snow or formation of ice, — without some other and independent tortious act or omission constituting compensable negligence,' — and we so hold.

CALLISTER, C. J., and TUCKETT and CROCKETT, JJ., concur.

1 . Title 10-8-23, Utah Code Annotated 1953.

2 . Provo City Ordinances (1964), Sec. 12.-52.150.

3 . Rhyne, Municipal Law (1957), Sec. 30-16, p. 758; 21 Minn.Law Rev. 704; Smith v. Distr. of Col., 89 U.S.App.D.C. 7, 189 P.2d 671, 39 A.L.R.2d 773.

4 . Berger v. Salt Lake City, 56 Utah 403, 191 P. 233, 13 A.L.R. 5 (1920).