Fajardo

INTRODUCTION

Salvador Fajardo filed this negligence action against Cynthia Dailey after he tripped and fell on an asphalt patch between two adjacent sidewalk slabs in front of Dailey’s property. The trial court granted Dailey’s motion for summary judgment, ruling the condition of the sidewalk was a trivial defect. Because Dailey did not meet her burden on summary judgment of showing the defect was trivial as a matter of law, and because Fajardo submitted admissible evidence creating a triable issue of material fact, we reverse.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Fajardo Files This Action Against Dailey One morning in December 2018 Fajardo went for a walk in his neighborhood. Fajardo was wearing shorts and “tennies.” As he ran to reach an intersection before the traffic light turned red, he caught his foot on a lift in the sidewalk in front of Dailey’s home and fell, hitting his hands and knee on the ground. Fajardo filed this action in August 2019 against Dailey, the City of Monrovia, and the County of Los Angeles. In his operative, first amended complaint, he alleged causes of action against Dailey for premises liability and “negligence and property damage.” Fajardo…