Novack v. Los Angeles School District

WOOD, J.

Action by Sanford Novack, a minor, by his guardians

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litem, for damages for personal injuries sustained by him on the playground of a public school. At the close of plaintiff’s case, in a trial by jury, defendants’ motion for a nonsuit was granted. Plaintiff appeals from the order and judgment of nonsuit.

The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon, September 22, 1946, at the Sheridan Street Grammar School in Los Angeles. The playground of the school was enclosed by a fence about 10 feet high which was constructed of steel wire mesh and iron posts. South of the playground, and adjoining it,

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there was a school garden which was also enclosed by a fence. The south fence of the playground separated the playground from the garden, and the fence along the other three sides of the garden was 5 feet high and constructed of wire mesh and wooden posts. There were several gates in the playground fence. There was a gate in the garden fence, and a gate in the fence between the playground and the garden. On the day of the accident, about 4 p. m., Sanford’s uncle went to the playground to get him. He found Sanford, who was 6 years of age, lying on the playground with a long cut in his scalp, and his right leg under an overturned wooden box. The box, which was used to store athletic equipment, was empty at the time of the accident, was about 6% feet high, 4 feet in width, 4 feet in depth, and weighed about 200 pounds. The box, when in its normal position, stood upright and rested on three

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by 4” pieces of lumber which were attached to the bottom of the box—the 4-inch surfaces of those pieces being on the ground. Two doors, on the front side of the box, extended from the bottom of the box to within a few inches of its top, and they opened from the center outward. The roof of the box extended about 4 inches beyond the sides and was covered with sheet metal which was “turned over” the edges. The box had been on the playground about 10 years, and for a period of 5 or 6 years it had been located on the playground close to the south fence (the fence between the playground and the garden) and about 15 feet west of the gate in that fence. The ground where the box was located sloped slightly toward the center of the playground, but the slope was imperceptible.