Opinion ID: 2330417
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Question Presented on Appeal

Text: [¶ 12] Before us, Alexander asserts a claim against Mitchell sounding in tort, but springing from the existence of Mitchell's contract with the Town. Alexander no longer presses a claim of breach of contract as a third-party beneficiary under the Town's contract. Nor does he assert an ordinary motor vehicle negligence claim such as would be asserted had Mitchell's plow and Michelle Alexander's vehicle collided in the snow. Rather, Alexander argues that when Mitchell entered into the contract with the Town, he assumed a duty of care, remediable in tort by all members of the public using the Glenburn roads, to eliminate or reduce the hazards of snow and ice from the roads that he was responsible for plowing. Thus, Alexander argues that he has presented sufficient facts to survive summary judgment with regard to the question of whether Mitchell's actions met or failed to meet the standard of care of a snow plow contractor. If a duty exists, we agree that the question of whether there was a breach of the standard of care would ordinarily be a question for a fact-finder, not susceptible on this record to summary judgment. [¶ 13] The question presented then is whether Mitchell, upon entering into a contract to plow the Town's roads, undertook a duty to protect members of the road-using public from ice and snow. The motion court found that Mitchell did not assume that duty. We agree. [5]