In Reed v. City of Los Angeles, published February 28, 2020, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed summary judgment for the defendant city in a case alleging dangerous condition of public property. The plaintiff was riding his bicycle on a paved path adjacent to a sports field in a city park early one morning when he rode into a rope attached to a badminton net and stretched across the path. The plaintiff alleged that individuals unrelated to the city had erected the net, but that they had done so frequently enough that the City knew or should have known the rope would be there.
The appellate court ruled that Government Code section 831.4's trail immunity applied. The immunity applies to conditions adjacent to the recreational trail that pose a danger only to users of the trail. Here, the badminton net did not pose a danger except to users of the trail, because it impeded regular use of the trail. The alleged failure to take measures to prevent the rope from being stretched across the trail is a failure to maintain the trail. The immunity applies to failure to maintain trails.
Comments