In New Jersey, public entities are generally afforded immunity from suits involving personal injuries, with limited exceptions. The plaintiff in Guerrero v. Toms River Regional Schools Board of Education, attempted to establish that such an exception existed in her suit against her school board for injuries she suffered after she slipped on ice. Both the lower and appellate court disagreed, finding in favor of the school board.

Guerrero was a student at one of the high schools that comprised the Toms River Regional School District. At the time of her alleged accident, Guerrero was walking outside on one of the school walkways in an effort to avoid the crowded hallways inside so as not to be late for her next class. Guerrero noticed that the walkway was icy and tried to go back, but the door had locked behind her and could not be opened from the outside. She fell while walking along the walkway. Earlier that morning, a school wide announcement had been made over the public address system warning students against walking in that particular area due to the inclement weather.  It had snowed a few days earlier and had rained the night before and the school’s maintenance staff had cleared the snow and ice the day before Guerrero’s accident.

The school board eventually moved for summary judgment arguing that it was immune from suit under the New Jersey Torts Claims Act and under New Jersey’s common-law immunity that will not hold public entities liable for negligent snow removal activities.  Guerrero argued that this case presents an exception to the general rule and required the imposition of liability since the initial snow event was days old and the school voluntarily undertook to use its resources to initially remove the snow, but then failed to address the conditions again for a period of time, thereby negating the immunity.  Guerrero also attempted to liken the school to a commercial landlord, but the court rejected this argument, refused to overturn the legislative intent behind the statute and found that common law immunity applied.

Thanks to Heather Aquino for her contribution to this post. For more information, please contact Nicole Y. Brown at .