A woman’s lawsuit against a property management company and its affiliates was dismissed after the court ruled that her claims were speculative. The complaint, filed by Rossmid Lopez-Arana in Cook County Circuit Court on January 2021, targeted Brian Properties, Inc., Salem Plaza Center II, LLC, and other associated entities for injuries she sustained from a fall in their parking lot.
Lopez-Arana’s lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent in maintaining the parking lot of their Schaumburg, Illinois property. She claimed that on January 22, 2019, she slipped and fell due to a depression in the cracked pavement covered with ice and snow. Her fall resulted in severe injuries to her left leg and back. Lopez-Arana accused the defendants of failing to inspect the premises properly, allowing it to fall into disrepair, not warning visitors about the dangerous conditions, and inadequately removing snow and ice.
In response, Brian Properties and Salem Plaza denied any wrongdoing and argued that Lopez-Arana was comparatively negligent. They also filed a third-party complaint against Jameson Pavement Surfaces, Inc., alleging that Jameson failed to fulfill its contract for snow removal services adequately.
The defendants moved for summary judgment on the grounds that they had no duty to protect Lopez-Arana from naturally occurring snow or ice while precipitation was actively falling. They contended that there was no evidence showing an unnatural accumulation of ice caused by cracks in the pavement where Lopez-Arana fell.
Lopez-Arana countered with her deposition testimony and photographs taken months after her fall, which showed cracks in the parking lot. She argued these cracks led to an unnatural accumulation of ice and snow. However, she admitted she did not see the pavement beneath the snow at the time of her fall nor could she confirm if any depression caused her foot to get stuck.
The court sided with Brian Properties and Salem Plaza, ruling that Lopez-Arana’s claims were speculative. The judge noted that even if there were cracks in the pavement, there was no evidence they caused an unnatural accumulation of ice or contributed directly to her fall. The court concluded that any ice present could have been due to natural precipitation given the weather conditions at the time.
Ultimately, Judge Scott D. McKenna granted summary judgment in favor of Brian Properties and Salem Plaza on August 28, 2024. The decision highlighted that speculation alone could not establish a genuine issue of material fact necessary for negligence claims related to slip-and-fall incidents involving natural accumulations of snow or ice.
This article was first published in Cook County Record.
