Pothole case survives de minimis rule

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted December 12, 2017 1:04 PM

Walking to her car in a darkened parking lot at 10 p.m. while wearing 2-inch-high heels, Rhonda Barrett stepped into a pothole that was between a half-inch to 2 inches deep. According to Barrett’s deposition testimony she “jolted” forward, falling on one of her knees and her face, because the heel of one of her shoes wedged into “some broken up asphalt” or “some ground under the asphalt” at the bottom of the hole.When she sued the owners of the lot for alleged negligence, the …

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