Rodriguez

FACTS

One afternoon in April 2018, while walking to a bus stop in Santa Ana, Rodriguez tripped over the remains of a metal signpost sticking out of the sidewalk. The protruding stump was roughly three to four inches high. Rodriguez suffered injuries as a result of her fall. Google images suggest the street sign was removed or went missing sometime between June 2017 and January 2018. It is unclear how, why, or by whom the street sign was removed. Before Rodriguez’s fall, the City had not received any complaints about the condition of the sidewalk, nor had it received any accident reports related to the location where Rodriguez fell. Rodriguez filed a complaint against the City for negligence and premises liability. The City moved for summary judgment, asserting there was no evidence of a substantial risk of injury, no evidence a City employee created a dangerous condition, and no evidence the City had actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition. (See

2 Govt. Code, § 835 [a public entity is liable for injury caused by its property’s dangerous condition if an injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition; the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of…