Rodriguez v. City of Santa Ana CA4/3

Filed 1/18/22 Rodriguez v. City of Santa Ana CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

CHRISTINE RODRIGUEZ,

Plaintiff and Appellant, G059850

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2019-01057328)

CITY OF SANTA ANA, OPINION

Defendant and Respondent.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Robert J. Moss, Judge. Affirmed. Law Offices of Gene J. Goldsman, Gene J. Goldsman and Carson C. Newton for Plaintiff and Appellant. Sandra M. Schwarzmann and Kyle C. Nellesen, Assistant City Attorneys, for Defendant and Respondent. * * *

Plaintiff Christine Rodriguez sued the City of Santa Ana (City) for premises liability after she tripped on a sign stump protruding from the sidewalk. The City moved for summary judgment, asserting there was no admissible evidence that a City employee created the alleged dangerous condition or that the City had notice of the alleged dangerous condition. In her opposition to the motion, Rodriguez submitted the declaration of a traffic engineer, who opined, among other things, that a car probably struck the signpost at some point and the City likely cleaned up the scene but neglected to remove the stump. After finding the expert declaration inadmissible, the trial court granted summary judgment for the City. Rodriguez appeals, contending the trial court erroneously struck her expert’s declaration. We find no abuse of discretion in the court’s ruling and therefore affirm the judgment.

FACTS One afternoon in April 2018, while walking to a bus stop in Santa Ana, Rodriguez tripped over the remains of a metal signpost sticking out of the sidewalk. The protruding stump was roughly three to four inches high. Rodriguez suffered injuries as a result of her fall. Google images suggest the street sign was removed or went missing sometime between June 2017 and January 2018. It is unclear how, why, or by whom the street sign was removed. Before Rodriguez’s fall, the City had not received any complaints about the condition of the sidewalk, nor had it received any accident reports related to the location where Rodriguez fell. Rodriguez filed a complaint against the City for negligence and premises liability. The City moved for summary judgment, asserting there was no evidence of a substantial risk of injury, no evidence a City employee created a dangerous condition, and no evidence the City had actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition. (See