Slip and fall on a leaf

In the below case a person tripped on a sidewalk lip that was covered by a leaf. The court ruled they should have paid more attention and they have no cause of action.

Holding that a leaf-concealed sidewalk lip was an open and obvious danger, the court concluded that the trial court properly granted the defendant-premises owner summary disposition. Plaintiff, her husband, and her daughter were walking into defendant's restaurant on 11/24/07. The ground was covered with leaves at the time, and the sidewalk underneath was not visible. There was an approximately two-inch lip in the sidewalk in the area where plaintiff tripped, just in front of the stairs leading up to the restaurant's entrance. No one was exactly sure what she tripped on at the moment it happened. However, upon inspection, plaintiff's husband and daughter saw the lip and assumed it was what caused plaintiff to trip. Plaintiff testified at her deposition that she did not know what tripped her, just that her foot "bumped into something," that she "hit something," "stubbed something," and that she "now know[s] there was a lip there." She had been to the restaurant at least three times previously and had never fallen before. The trial court determined that the sidewalk lip covered by leaves was an open and obvious condition and summary disposition was appropriate. Plaintiff argued on appeal that the condition was not open and obvious because the defect - the sidewalk lip - was completely covered in leaves. The court disagreed. "Plaintiff's fall occurred during autumn in Michigan when leaf-covered sidewalks are neither remarkable nor unexpected. Casual observation would alert the average individual of the potential danger posed from slipping on the leaves or tripping over something hidden under the leaves." Affirmed.