The plaintiff fell during the winter when she stepped off of a municipal sidewalk onto the snow covered front lawn of the property abutting the sidewalk to get around a group of people waiting for a bus. She tripped over a tree root and fell, injuring herself. The plaintiff notified the City of the incident 70 days later. The City brought a successful motion for summary judgment.
The motion judge held:
(1) The plaintiff’s late notice barred the claim as she did not have a reasonable excuse for the delay. The plaintiff was physically and mentally capable of investigating her rights during that period and she failed to rebut the presumption of prejudice to the City.
(2) The City met the applicable standard of care in removing snow form the sidewalk on the day before the incident.
(3) In the event the plaintiff fell on a City-owned road allowance, the City did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care in respect of her use of the road allowance. The plaintiff chose to depart from the sidewalk to get around people waiting for a bus. The City had no control over the persons standing on the sidewalk and was not required to plow the margins of the sidewalk.