Hinch Law

I've previously written about snow removal liability, and particularly the case of Murphy-Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services, Inc. , first at the appellate court and ultimately when the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate ruling. That case involved ice allegedly forming from a faulty downspout install, not merely removal of naturally accumulated snow. In Hussey v. Chase Manor Condo. Assoc . , the appellate court had occasion to revisit #snowlaw , specifically the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act , 745 ILCS 75/2, and its immunity provision. The case involved a plaintiff who slipped and fell while walking across an area that apparently had parking spaces but also excess paved area, which condo residents would walk across to enter the building.  The trial court had granted summary judgment to the association, finding this area to be equivalent to a "sidewalk." What exactly is a "sidewalk?" It's important because the Act grants immunity t...

Last winter I wrote about the First District Appellate court decision in  Murphy Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services, Inc . Here is that previous post .  After that decision, one of the parties petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case, and the court granted the petition.  In the spirit of the season, the Illinois Supreme Court last week issued its decision , affirming the First District ruling. My previous post went through the case and potential liability and immunity under the Snow and Ice Removal Act ; I will not repeat that all here.  But essentially, the ruling (at both courts) finds that the Act, which provides immunity and limits liability for negligent removal of naturally accumulated snow and ice, does NOT apply to limit liability for negligently creating an unnatural condition that causes ice to accumulate.  In this case, the plaintiff alleged that a faulty downspout installation caused the ice accumulation.  The Court is...

As I write this post, Central Illinois is having a severe ice storm on the heals of a very wet Christmas.  Thus I read with interest today the First District Illinois Appellate Court's recent decision in Murphy-Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services, Inc. , as to the scope of the Snow and Ice Removal Act and "natural accumulation." At Illinois common law, a landowner has no duty to remove natural accumulations of snow, but can have a duty to remove unnatural accumulations, and if undertaking to remove snow, can incur liability if done negligently.  The Act changed the common law to provide immunity for injuries sustained by a person as a result of attempts to clear snow or ice, albeit negligently.   In Murphy-Hylton , the plaintiff apparently injured herself by slipping on a patch of ice on an otherwise clear sidewalk.  Her complaint did not allege negligent removal of snow or ice.  Instead, the plaintiff argued that her injury was caused by the defend...

In a January 27, 2010 opinion the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois held that the immunity granted to associations, building owners, and their agents under the Snow and Ice Removal Act (the Act) (745 ILCS 75/1 et. seq) for negligent removal of snow or ice on SIDEWALKS does NOT make them immune or negligent snow or ice removal on DRIVEWAYS . In this case the snow plowing contractor apparently plowed  single, narrow path up the middle of the  plaintiff's driveway to the garage, such that snow was mounded on each side of the path and also in front of the garage, and allegedly creating a sheer packed ice surface in area plowed.  As a result, the plaintiff could not drive his car into the garage, and instead parked on the street and walked up the plowed path to inspect the snow in front of his garage.  He slipped and fell on the plowed driveway and sustained right distal tibia and fibula fractures. The condominium unit owner then sued the association, t...