City of Tupelo v. Vaughn
| Decision Date | 22 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 46111,46111 |
| Citation | 246 So.2d 88 |
| Parties | CITY OF TUPELO v. Mrs. Ruth VAUGHN. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Mitchell, Rogers & Eskridge, Tupelo, for appellant.
Walter M. O'Barr, Okolona, Billy W. Shelton, Tupelo, for appellee.
Mrs. Ruth Vaughn recovered a judgment against the City of Tupelo in the Circuit Court of Lee County for injuries sustained when she tripped and fell at a crevice or gap in a city sidewalk. The city appeals, contending that it was entitled to a directed verdict and that the trial court erred in submitting the case to a jury.
The facts are undisputed. The plaintiff parked her car and put a coin in the parking meter. She then walked a short distance along a public sidewalk in the City of Tupelo at which time she tripped and feel, severely injuring her knee. She testified that she fell when she stumbled or tripped at a crevice or gap in the concrete pavement. Unimpeached and clear photographs introduced in her behalf show this crevice or gap from several points of view, including that from which she approached it. The plaintiff stated that the photographs 'accurately depict the condition of the sidewalk' as it was at the time of her fall. The incident occurred in broad daylight; the walk was level and straight; visibility was good, and plaintiff said that if she had looked she would have seen the gap or break in the pavement and would have stepped over it. In other words, plaintiff freely admitted that the condition was plainly visible if she had looked and that she did not look. The photographs showed the break to be several inches wide, a few inches deep, and extended across the width of the walk. In addition, grass was growing in the break. It is obvious that anyone using the sidewalk and exercising reasonable care for his own safety would have seen the defect and avoided it. The defect in the pavement is of that character which commonly results from the ravages of time and the attrition of long use. From its appearance it had existed for a considerable time, and its appearance was capable of supporting a reasonable inference that the City authorities knew or should have known of its existence. Under facts practically the same as those in the instant case, this Court has held as a matter of law that the city was not liable. City of Greenville v. Laury, 172 Miss. 118, 159 So. 121 (1935).
The rule applicable to municipal corporations in cases of this kind differs from the rule which applies on business property. In City of Greenville v. Laury, supra, the Court based its conclusions upon the rule that a...
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Bond v. City of Long Beach
...safe condition where injury is reasonably foreseeable to persons exercising reasonable care for their own safety. City of Tupelo v. Vaughn, 246 So.2d 88, 89 (1971); City of Biloxi v. Schambach, 247 Miss. 644, 650, 157 So.2d 386, 390 ¶ 6. Essentially, Bond argues that the City of Long Beach ......
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Burton v. City of Philadelphia
...of city where pedestrian was injured by tripping on a stake protruding one inch above the ground was reversed). In City of Tupelo v. Vaughn, 246 So.2d 88 (Miss.1971), this Court reversed a judgment in favor of a pedestrian where the crevice was "several inches wide, a few inches deep, and e......
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Howard v. City of Biloxi, No. 2005-CA-00829-COA.
...and other public ways in a reasonably safe condition for the use of persons exercising ordinary care and caution. City of Tupelo v. Vaughn, 246 So.2d 88, 89 (Miss.1971); Schambach, 247 Miss. at 655, 157 So.2d at 391. In the case at bar, Howard argues that the City delegated the responsibili......