Notice of the tentative ruling system may be provided by an attachment to the notice of motion. Sanctions will be imposed for failure to provide notice of the Court's tentative ruling system, particularly to clients who are not ordinarily expected to know the local rules. Plaintiff Patricia White alleges that she tripped over a sewer cover in the parking lot of defendant bank while she was walking back to her car. The sewer cover was located in a striped area between two handicapped parking places. The sewer cover was not flush with the asphalt.
Plaintiffs allege causes of action for negligence, premises liability and loss of consortium.
Defendant contends that it cannot be liable on any theory because any defect in the sewer cover is trivial as a matter of law. Defendant cites cases in which it was held that a differential in sidewalk elevation of an inch or less is trivial. The reasoning supporting the trivial defect defense is that it is impossible to maintain heavily traveled surfaces in a perfect condition and that minor defects such as differences in elevation are bound to occur in spite of the exercise of reasonable care by the party having the duty of maintaining the area involved. The court finds the sidewalk cases distinguishable, as most of them deal with defects that develop over time, such as cracks or chips from tree roots. Here, there is no evidence that the sewer cover at the time of the fall was in other than its original condition.