HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals recently affirmed a ruling granting an apartment complex summary judgment in a trip and fall lawsuit.
Court records show Sarah Garnelo sued Urban Southwest Township Apartments GP after she tripped and fell in a hole next to a sidewalk leading to her apartment, asserting claims for premises liability and negligent hiring.
According to the 14th Court’s May 26 opinion, the sinkhole had developed next to a sidewalk in front of Garnelo’s apartment. She reported the sinkhole and Township attempted to fill it with sand, which washed away in heavy rains. The sinkhole grew and eventually eroded the ground on both sides of the sidewalk in front of Garnelo’s apartment. The sidewalk, however, remained intact.
“One day, Garnelo exited her apartment,” the opinion states. “She was walking backward because she was maneuvering a stroller, which had several boxes stacked atop it, and she believed that walking backward gave her more control over the stroller. She stepped off the sidewalk into the sinkhole, fell, and sustained injuries.”
Court records show Township moved for traditional summary judgment, arguing that it owed no duty to warn Garnelo of the sinkhole because it was open and obvious and because she knew about the hole and had seen it every day for several months before the incident.
A trial court granted Township summary judgment and subsequently denied Garnelo’s motion for a new trial.
On appeal, Garnelo argued that the trial court erred because Township undertook a contractual obligation to repair the sinkhole and made partial but ineffective repairs, and that her knowledge of the sinkhole did not absolve Township’s responsibility.
The 14th Court found that Township owed Garnelo no duty.
“We conclude that the summary judgment evidence establishes as a matter of law that it was unnecessary for Garnelo to step in or over the hole, or to walk backward over or through the portion of the premises containing the allegedly unreasonably dangerous condition, instead of facing forward so that she could walk on the intact sidewalk rather than the adjacent lawn containing the sinkhole,” the opinion states.
“For these reasons, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment on the ground that Township had no duty to make safe or warn Garnelo of the sinkhole because Garnelo knew about the condition for several months before the accident.”
Case No. 14-20-00796-CV