Rouis

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Lou Baya Ould Rouis, an incoming first-year student at UCLA at the time of the accident, fell while climbing down from the top bunk bed in her dorm room. She hit her back on the desk or the chair next to her bed. She then stood up, and as she walked to the front door of her dorm room, she fainted and injured her eye. Lou Baya and her father, Ali Ould Rouis1, subsequently sued the governing board of the University of California (The Regents) for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of the housing contract, breach of implied contract, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The Regents moved for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication. With respect to the negligence claim, The Regents argued that, as a matter of law, the absence of a separate ladder to access the upper bunk bed does not constitute a dangerous condition. Thus, according to The Regents, plaintiffs’ negligence claim fails because under Government Code section 8352, a public entity is only liable for an injury caused by a dangerous condition on its property. The trial court agreed, concluding plaintiffs failed to provide…