Stevenson v. County of Solano CA1/4

Filed 2/24/25 Stevenson v. County of Solano CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

BATHSHEBA A. STEVENSON, Plaintiff and Appellant, A169843 v. COUNTY OF SOLANO, (Solano County Super. Ct. No. FCS054069) Defendant and Respondent.

Bathsheba A. Stevenson filed a lawsuit for personal injury against the County of Solano (County) alleging that she slipped and fell on a dangerous condition while coming out of the Vallejo John F. Kennedy Library. The County filed a motion for summary judgment, which was granted on February 9, 2024. Stevenson appears to seek reversal of the trial court order granting summary judgment and raises several other issues with the proceedings below. We shall affirm the judgment.1

1 Stevenson filed her notice of appeal before judgment was entered

below. In the interests of justice, we deem her appeal to be from the judgment. (Kasparian v. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 11, 14, fn. 1.)

1

I. BACKGROUND2 Stevenson filed her lawsuit on December 13, 2019, alleging a dangerous condition of public property. Stevenson claims she fell at the Vallejo John F. Kennedy Library on November 7, 2018. She states a library employee offered to assist her in getting up, but Stevenson quickly went on her way because she was embarrassed and she thought she could shake it off. Stevenson does not know what she slipped on, only that it was something she felt was greasy. The County filed a motion for summary judgment on November 21, 2023, on the grounds that it had no liability for Stevenson’s injuries because the County had no notice of any alleged dangerous condition and there was no evidence Stevenson’s injuries were caused by a dangerous condition. The notice of motion explained that the trial court had adopted a procedure for tentative rulings on motions in civil cases: the court would issue a tentative ruling the day before the hearing on the motion, which would become its order unless a party gave notice that it wished to appear and argue the matter. The hearing on the motion for summary judgment was set for February 9, 2024. Stevenson did not file a timely opposition. Instead, on January 29, she filed a notice of “Motion to Amend Complaint.” She provided no memorandum of points and authorities in support of this motion, but filed what appear to be a map and photograph of the library where she claims she was injured and a copy of the government claim form