Opinion ID: 2330417
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Other States' Common Law

Text: [¶ 29] Courts in other states affected by snowy winter weather conditions have been similarly reluctant to create open-ended common law duties to prevent injuries caused by the presence of ice or snow. For example, the Colorado courts have been unwilling to impose liability for injuries on public property caused by natural obstacles or weather conditions, such as snowfall. See, e.g., Bittle v. Brunetti, 750 P.2d 49, 53 (Colo.1988). The Colorado Supreme Court has refused to shift the risk of injuries incurred on snowy and icy public sidewalks from injured pedestrians, who presently bear the burden, to people owning or occupying private property abutting public sidewalks. Id. at 54. The no duty rule is firmly embedded in Colorado's jurisprudence. Id. at 51-52. This rule is the common law in the majority of snowy jurisdictions. [12] Id. at 52.