Cadam

*385 Opinion

A trivial defect is no less trivial when it exists on a walkway in a privately owned townhome development.

Barbara Cadam appeals a judgment notwithstanding verdict (JNOV) and alternatively, a new trial order regarding damages, in favor of Somerset Gardens Townhouse HOA (Somerset), a homeowners association, and Goetz Manderley (GM), a homeowners association management firm. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 629, 657.) 1 We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Somerset Gardens is a recently built townhome development in Santa Maria, consisting of 93 townhomes sited among four streets. In 2006, Cadam leased a Somerset Gardens townhome at 2355 Westbury Way. The townhome had a cement walkway extending from the driveway to the front door. Cadam usually entered the townhome, however, through the garage. She explained: “I had no reason to walk the walkway. It wasn’t something that I normally did. I also didn’t go out and look at the plants or anything. That was maintained by the homeowners’ association.”

On October 19, 2006, Cadam returned to her townhome during her lunch break from her bank employment. She parked her vehicle in the garage but then noticed that the gardeners were…