Walton

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The injury Walton has lived at the Willow Parks Apartment complex in San Jose for more than 30 years. On the evening of July 4, 2016, she had been meeting with a colleague, Paul Smith, in the living room of her apartment. After they finished their meeting, Walton escorted Smith out of her apartment. The two walked through the lobby and out the front door of the building towards a concrete staircase that leads down to a sidewalk and street below. Walton initially testified at her deposition that it was approximately 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. when she and Smith left the apartment building that evening. As discussed further below, Walton subsequently testified at trial that “it might have been later.” Walton and Smith began descending the 10-step staircase, Walton holding onto the handrail on the left side, and Smith on the right side. According to Walton, “all of a sudden,” she looked down and saw a “huge black hole” that covered the bottom four steps of the staircase. It “scared the heck” out of her—she did not know what it was, and she lunged forward, or “jumped,” to avoid it. Walton testified that she landed on both her knees at the bottom of…