Lopez v. City of L.A. CA2/3

Filed 1/21/21 Lopez v. City of L.A. CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

YOLANDA LOPEZ, B283804

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC518325) v.

CITY OF LOS ANGELES,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Benny C. Osorio, Judge. Affirmed. Yolanda Lopez, in pro. per.; and Channa Weiss for Plaintiff and Appellant. Michael N. Feuer, City Attorney, Kathleen A. Kenealy, Chief Assistant City Attorney, Scott Marcus, Chief Civil Litigation Branch, Blithe S. Bock and Shaun Dabby Jacobs, Deputy City Attorneys, for Defendant and Respondent. ——————————

Yolanda Lopez sued the City of Los Angeles (the City) for premises liability after she tripped on a sidewalk. The City moved for summary judgment. After denying Lopez’s request for a continuance, the trial court granted the unopposed motion for summary judgment. Lopez appeals. We affirm. BACKGROUND While walking on a sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles, Lopez tripped on broken decorative tiles and fell, injuring herself. Lopez sued the City for premises liability under theories of negligence, willful failure to warn, and dangerous condition of public property. She alleged that the City failed to maintain an area under its control, thereby allowing a dangerous condition to exist for an unreasonable period of time and over which the City had actual or constructive notice. The City moved for summary judgment. The City argued that it did not own or control the tiles that caused Lopez’s fall and did not have notice of the alleged dangerous condition. To support the motion, the City submitted the declaration of Hugo Valencia, a street services general superintendent for the street maintenance division of the City’s Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street Services. He is familiar with asphalt, concrete, construction practices, subsidence, potholes, and the general policies regarding maintenance of the City’s sidewalks and roadways. According to Valencia, the City did not remove, maintain, or have control over the tiles where Lopez fell.1 The City also submitted the declaration of a City attorney chief investigator stating that he had searched the City’s