AMBERGER-WARREN

Plaintiff Anni Amberger-Warren was injured when she slipped and fell in a dog park in Piedmont. She sued the City of Piedmont on the theory that her injuries were caused by a dangerous condition of public property, and defendant obtained summary judgment on the basis of trail immunity (Gov. Code, § 831.4, subd. (b)). Plaintiff contends on appeal that, as a matter of law or as a triable issue of fact, the accident did not occur on a “trail” within the meaning of the immunity statute, and that, even if the accident happened on a trail, defendant is not insulated from liability because the accident was caused by dangerous conditions defendant created that were “unrelated” to the trail.

We examine the application of section 831.4 to a paved pathway in an urban park setting. The principal issues are: (1) whether the pathway in question was a “sidewalk” for purposes of section 831.4, and, if so, whether a sidewalk can ever be a “trail” under the statute; and (2) whether trail immunity precludes liability for the design and location, as well as the maintenance, of a trail. We hold that the pathway here is a trail under the statute, even if it could be characterized as a…