Unpublished Disposition, 904 F.2d 710 (9th Cir. 1990)

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US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 904 F.2d 710 (9th Cir. 1990)

Lydia F. KOHN, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.STEIN'S MOBILE HOMES, a Montana corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 89-35473.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Submitted June 8, 1990.* Decided June 13, 1990.

Before SCHROEDER, WILLIAM A. NORRIS and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM** 

Appellant Lydia Kohn was injured when she slipped on a piece of ice concealed beneath one inch of new snow which covered appellee Stein's Mobile Homes (Stein's) unplowed lot. Invoking diversity jurisdiction, appellant sued for damages, and the district court granted summary judgment for appellee Stein's. We review the grant of summary judgment de novo, T.W. Elec. Serv. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors, 809 F.2d 626 (9th Cir. 1987), and affirm.

Montana law imposes no duty on a property owner to remove or alter snow or ice that accumulates naturally. The Montana Supreme Court has specifically rejected the rationale that natural conditions such as obvious ice and snow create an unreasonably dangerous condition which requires the landowner to take certain precautions. Cereck v. Albertson's, Inc., 195 Mont. 409, 637 P.2d 509, 511 (1981) (citing Luebeck v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 152 Mont. 88, 446 P.2d 921 (1968). Montana has confined property owner liability for natural accumulations of ice and snow to those situations in which the property owner has increased or changed the hazard through some affirmative act. Cereck, 637 P.2d at 512 (Morrison, J. concurring).

The parties do not dispute that neither Mr. Stein nor his employees altered conditions on the lot in any way. Because the danger was created by natural elements, the forming of ice and the falling of snow, which are universally known to make surfaces slippery, there can be no liability here. The district court's summary judgment is AFFIRMED.

 *

The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. Fed. R. App. P. 34(a) and Ninth Circuit Rule 34-4

 **

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3

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