Beck v. City of Palo Alto

STONE, J. pro tem.

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Respondent commenced this action seeking damages for injuries suffered when she slipped and fell on a sidewalk. Plaintiff lived in Palo Alto, on Hale Street,

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within a few blocks of the scene of the accident. On September 22, 1953, she went to the tailor shop at 144 Willow Road. On her return home about 4 p. m. she proceeded along Palo Alto Avenue from Middlefield toward Pulton. She walked on the right-hand side of the sidewalk, the side toward the houses. The sun was shining, the walk was dry. In front of the premises at 750 Palo Alto Avenue she tripped over a raised portion of the sidewalk and fell, striking her knee. She testified that she had looked for 25 to 50 feet ahead as she walked and had seen no defect in the sidewalk. At that point, the sidewalk curves.

B. L. Gould testified that he moved to 750 Palo Alto Avenue in September, 1952. Within two months his 2-year-old daughter, who could walk, but was wobbly, fell over the defect. At that time he first noticed the defect. He testified the break in the sidewalk had not changed in the 10 months before plaintiff’s accident. He estimated the deviation was at least an inch, although he never measured it. He did not report the break in the sidewalk to the city. He called the city engineer’s office on August 25, 1953, to advise him that the street sweeper was missing the gutter in front of his house. Irwin Johnson, Assistant City Engineer, testified that one of his duties was to repair and supervise the examination of sidewalks in Palo Alto. The city provides its own utility services, thus, a city meter reader enters each of the premises at least once a month. Each meter reader is instructed to report defective sidewalks. Prior to September 22, 1953, no report of a defect at the scene of the accident was received.

Johnson testified that the engineer’s office also conducted tree-planting functions. On August 25, 1953, he received a complaint from B. L. Gould that the street sweeper continually skipped the Palo Alto Avenue side of the corner. He told one Carl Stevenson to investigate, and Stevenson reported back that there were two large pepper trees. On September 4,1953, Johnson went to 750 Palo Alto Avenue to examine the two pepper trees at the premises. He examined the one pepper tree adjacent to where plaintiff was injured. Two branches were removed from the tree to allow the street sweeper to sweep cleanly around the corner. Johnson stood on the sidewalk as he examined the pepper tree, but he did not see any rise in the vicinity of the pepper tree. By city standards, a “repairable hazard” is an elevation over one-half to three-quarters of an inch elevation. He did not see any such elevation. He testified that the break’s elevation was then less