Court Rules in Favor of Park District In Tree Stump Injury Lawsuit
An Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled in favor of a park district in a lawsuit filed by a person injured when she fell on a tree stump on property owned by the park district. The injury occurred at a park owned by the park district, in an area directly behind the plaintiff's family member's home. The plaintiff was playing badminton that her family member had set up on park district property. In her lawsuit against the park district, she claimed the park district was liable for her injury because it occurred on park district land. The park district countered that the Tort Immunity Act applied to defeat her claims, arguing that the plaintiff was neither an intended nor permitted user of the property, and the tree stump condition and risk were "open and obvious." The circuit court ruled in favor of the park district, and the case was appealed.
On appeal, the Appellate Court upheld the ruling in favor of the park district. First, the Appellate Court determined that the park district had enacted an ordinance that restricted games and sports in designated areas only, and the open space area located behind the home where the injury occurred was not a designated area for sports such as badminton. As a result, the plaintiff was not an intended user of that area when she was playing badminton. Second, the Appellate Court noted that the photos taken of the area showed that the tree stump condition was open and obvious and, as a result, she should have recognized the danger and taken care to avoid risk. Third, the Appellate Court rejected the plaintiff's argument that the park district's conduct was "willful and wanton" as the park district had received no complaints about the tree stump, and the area where it was located was not a high traffic area. Wright v. Gurnee Park District.
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