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Condition of Fence Gate “Open and Obvious” Precluding Recovery

Plaintiff was injured when, sitting on the ground, he leaned back against a fence-gate which swung open causing him to fall.  The First Department determined the condition of the fence was “open and obvious” precluding recovery (there was a dissent).  The court wrote:

Although property owners have a duty to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition, and to warn of latent hazards of which they are aware …, they have no duty to protect or warn, and a court is not precluded from granting summary judgment, where the condition complained of was both open and obvious and, as a matter of law, not inherently dangerous … . “In such circumstances, the condition which caused the accident cannot fairly be attributed to any negligent maintenance of the property” …Here, defendant … established prima facie that the unlocked gate that allegedly caused plaintiff to injure himself was open and obvious, and was not inherently dangerous. The color photographs in the record show that the gate was “plainly observable and did not pose any danger to someone making reasonable use of his or her senses” … .  Boyd v New York City Hous Auth, 2013 NY Slip Op 02507, 9724, 310500/10, 2nd Dept 4-16-13

 

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