Important factors in commercial premises cases are the duties of the landowner to discover and eliminate dangerous conditions for those invited onto the business property and to maintain the premises in safe condition.  And the business owner also may have a duty to warn its invitees of a hazardous condition on their property.  These issues were at the forefront of Arroyave v. Quaker Village Apartments, as the plaintiff alleged that the the owner of the apartment complex in which the plaintiff resided failed to warn her of long wet grass on a path used by the complex’ residents.

The path at issue was created on a hill by residents over time as a shortcut between the parking lot and the residential units. Further, the stairway designated to provide paved access to the parking lot was in disrepair. Although one could argue that any injury sustained as a result of willfully diverting from the designated walkway should bar any recovery, the property owner took steps to maintain the resident-created path – creating the potential for liability.

After the plaintiff slipped and fell on the path, she claimed that the grass was long and wet and that the property owner should have provided a warning of the condition. The trial court disagreed and granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

In affirming the trial court’s decision, the Appellate Division determined that the property owner did not owe plaintiff any duty to plaintiff to warn her to avoid the grass. Although the property owner shoveled the path in the winter, thereby demonstrating awareness that its residents regularly used the path, the Court found that the owner’s regular practice of cutting the grass once weekly – and two days after the plaintiff’s accident – precluded a jury from finding that the length of the grass constituted a dangerous condition or that the defendant breached a duty to maintain the area in a reasonably safe condition.

Quite simply, the Court felt it is common knowledge that grass is slippery when wet, and fairness dictated affirmation of dismissal in favor of the property owner.

Thanks to Emily Kidder for her contribution to this post and please write to Mike Bono for more information.