Aura

FACTS

Aura was hit by a car while crossing the street at a crosswalk at 11:00 p.m. on November 13, 2013, and suffered significant injuries. Aura submitted a claim for damages to the City of $1,000,000, filed pursuant to Government Code1 section 905 on February 26, 2014. When that claim was denied, Aura brought suit against the City on August 6, 2014, alleging his injuries were caused by a dangerous condition of public property in violation of section 835. Aura specifically alleged, “the single globe overhanging lamp standard was hidden by significantly overgrown trees causing the crosswalk to be dark and individuals therein to be unobservable by motorists and obstructing the view of motorists of pedestrians in the crosswalk.” Aura alleged the City knew or should have known of this dangerous condition and should have taken measures to repair or protect against it. The City demurred to the complaint on the grounds it had no duty to light the street or to maintain lighting, even at a crosswalk, and its failure to provide adequate lighting was not a physical condition of the property. The trial court sustained the demurrer without leave to amend, finding ample legal support for the…