Winters
Winters v. United States
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Mueller, J.
ORDER
The government moves for summary judgment on the single claim brought by *999 plaintiff John Winters. Def.’s Mot. Summ. J. (“Mot.”) at 1, ECF No. 16-1. The court heard argument on June 6, 2014, with Hank G. Greenblatt appearing for plaintiff and Gregory T. Broderick appearing for the government. As explained below, the court GRANTS the motion.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff was injured when recreationally riding his motorcycle on June 10, 2012 in Eldorado National Forest. Stipulated Fact 1-2, ECF No. 17. Plaintiff alleges the injury occurred as a result of hitting a large pothole on Silver Fork Road, the impact of which caused him to lose control of the vehicle, fall to the ground and injure his shoulder. Compl. ¶ 7, ECF No. 2.
The accident occurred on government property. See Stipulated Fact 3. Although the property is generally open to the public, plaintiff was not expressly invited onto the land. Id. Plaintiff has no evidence that the government knew of the particular pothole at issue before the date of the accident or that it had caused any other accidents, id. 5-6, and he does not allege that the government engaged in willful or malicious conduct, see id. 7; Compl. ¶¶…