Kerr v. City of Salt Lake
Annotate this CasePlaintiff sustained injuries when he tripped on an uneven section of sidewalk maintained by Salt Lake City. Plaintiff sued the City, alleging that the City negligently failed to maintain the sidewalk. After Plaintiff's case in chief, the City moved for a directed verdict, arguing that Plaintiff had not produced evidence that the City had adequate notice to remedy the sidewalk defect. The trial court granted the motion. The trial court subsequently granted Plaintiff's motion for a new trial, ruling that it had erred by granting the City's motion for a directed verdict because whether the City had sufficient notice to remedy the defect in the sidewalk was a question for the jury. After a retrial, the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the City in this case was not entitled to discretionary function immunity; (2) Plaintiff presented evidence at the second trial that the City had adequate notice of the sidewalk defect; and (3) the City's evidentiary arguments were either barred by the invited error doctrine or unsupported by the record.
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