Burton

INTRODUCTION

While taking a walk in the City of La Verne (the City), appellant Irene Burton tripped on a raised sidewalk slab. She then sued respondents, the City and adjacent-property owner Constance Shoemaker. The trial court ultimately granted summary judgment for respondents, concluding as a matter of law that the height differential -- about 1-5/16 inches at its highest -- constituted a trivial defect that could not give rise to liability. Burton challenges this ruling on appeal, arguing that both the size of the defect and other aggravating factors created a triable issue as to whether the defect was trivial. We conclude that the defect was trivial as a matter of law based on its nature and size, and that no aggravating factor rendered it dangerous. We therefore affirm.

BACKGROUND

A. Burton’s Accident and the Complaint On the morning of October 25, 2018, Burton and her husband were walking east near 1042 Mildred Street in the

2 City of La Verne, when she tripped over a raised sidewalk panel. In August 2019, Burton filed this action against the City and others, and subsequently added Shoemaker as a defendant.1 She alleged that the raised slab constituted a dangerous…