Premises liability; Slip & fall; Whether the snow-covered ice was effectively avoidable; Ordinary negligence

The court held that the trial court erred by concluding there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the snow-covered ice upon which plaintiff slipped was effectively avoidable. Thus, the order granting summary disposition to defendant-Hannawa was reversed. Also, as it found that plaintiff’s ordinary negligence claim ultimately failed, it affirmed the orders granting summary disposition to defendants-Allenwest and DPM. Allenwest was the owner of a strip mall. Hannawa owned a building that was adjacent to the strip mall. Allenwest contracted with DPM to provide snow-removal services for its property and Hannawa’s property, for which it later billed Hannawa. In 2019, Hannawa’s building was occupied by a nonparty-tenant. Plaintiff was an employee of the tenant. On a January morning, plaintiff slipped on a patch of ice covered with snow and fell on the sidewalk a few feet from the employee entrance. As a result, she fractured her lower left leg, requiring surgery and time off work. The court held that viewing “the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, reasonable minds could disagree as to whether plaintiff could have avoided the danger of ice and snow at the employee entrance by choosing to use the patient entrances instead.” Further, a reasonable jury could infer that no “alternatives were available that a reasonable individual in the plaintiff’s circumstances would have used to avoid the condition.” Remanded.