This personal injury action arose from a slip and fall that occurred on a sidewalk owned by the defendant municipality. The plaintiff was walking her dog and slipped on stones laying on the sidewalk. The defendant brought a summary judgment motion seeking to have the action dismissed. The plaintiff brought a motion in the alternative for summary judgment with respect to liability on the basis that the defendant failed to keep the sidewalk in a reasonable state of repair, and that the defendant could not utilize the defences set out in s. 44(3) of the Municipal Act. Justice King granted the defendant’s motion and dismissed the action. Justice King found that the condition of the sidewalk as referenced in the evidence was such that a person using ordinary care could pass safely. The stones did not cover the width of the sidewalk at any point, and the stones were not stacked on each other. Any person could have passed using ordinary care and the stones did not constitute an unreasonable state of non-repair. Justice King affirmed that it would be impossible to require municipalities to maintain all sidewalks to a perfect level.
