pringtime has arrived. The sun shines down upon us for longer periods of time, inviting the daffodils and tulips to rise up in rebellion against the tundra- like landscape that has kept us indoors for too long. As the glacial snow banks, formed by the brute strength of the municipal plows, begin to recede, so too the ice thins and melts away. The delicate foothold of thinning ice brings to mind the childhood “board” game “Don’t Break the Ice.” It’s not exactly a board game in the traditional sense, but it is a tabletop game of daring and suspense. Do you remember it? It’s the game where players take turns gingerly tapping out blocks of ice, hoping that he or she is not the one to break the ice and send the plastic character sitting atop the ice to its imaginary frozen doom.

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Aside from developing fine motor skills, surely the game teaches us about the dangers of ice: without due care, ice can lead to injury. For example, ice can be extremely slippery causing people to, well, slip and fall. People who slip and fall can be injured. An injured person may have medical bills and other damages for which they want to be compensated. Sometimes that injured person looks to the owner of the property on which he or she slipped and fell for such compensation, which may result in a lawsuit. Such a type of lawsuit leads us to the primary topic of this article: premises liability.

Premises liability is more or less the fancy legal term to describe what is commonly referred to as “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” cases. However, premises liability cases are not limited only to when a person slips or trips and falls. Such cases include any injury caused by a dangerous condition found on someone’s property, whether public, commercial or residential, due to or attributable to negligence on the part of the owner or possessor of the property. Negligence claims are based in tort law, but this is not a law journal article so we won’t go into what a tort is and what common (case) law is. The association’s attorney should be well versed in all that boring legal stuff. However, the association should keep in mind that state and local governments have enacted statutes and ordinances that may impact premises liability issues.

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Generally, to prevail on a premises liability claim, the injured person must prove that the property owner owed a duty to the injured person with respect to the alleged dangerous condition of the property. If no duty was owed, or there was no breach of that duty (assuming a duty was owed), then there cannot be liability on the part of the property owner to the injured person. That may sound simple enough, but as with most things in life, it may not be that cut and dry.dry

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Of course, the starting point for any community association is the applicable statute (i.e. Condominium Property Act for condominiums or Common Interest Community Association Act for non-condominium and non-master associations) and the association’s governing documents. Community associations are generally responsible for the condition of common areas (common elements) over which people traverse. Such common areas may include sidewalks, driveways, entranceways, accessibility ramps, private roadways, stairs, patios, grassy areas, hallways,

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lobbies, etc., of which the association is responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement pursuant to that association’s governing documents. Accordingly, by virtue of the association’s governing documents, the association assumes a duty with respect to the condition of common areas.

Despite an association’s best efforts, a person may still sustain an injury due to the condition of that common area. Whether the association will have any liability to that injured person will depend upon the factual circumstances related to the injury and applicable law.

Illinois has enacted the Premises Liability Act (“PLA”). Among other things, the PLA changes the common law by abolishing the distinction between invitees and licensees (again, the association attorney should know about this boring legal stuff). The PLA also provides, “the duty owed to such entrants is of reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the state of the premises or acts done or omitted on them.” (740 ILCS 130/2). Although, that sentence may seem to fall on the vague side of clarity, it does provide a point of reference for association boards with respect to their duty of care regarding the common area maintenance.

Illinois has also enacted the Snow and Ice Removal Act (“SIRA”). SIRA provides, in relevant part, “any owner, lessor,, occupant or other person in charge of any residential property, or any agent of or other persont , or any agent of or other person engaged by any such party, who removes or attempts to remove snow or ice from sidewalks abutting the property hall no

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shall not be liable for any personal injuries allegedly caused by the snowy or icy condition of the sidewalk resulting from his or her acts or omissions unless the alleged misconduct 45

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allegedly caused by the snowy or icy conditiion of the sidewalk resulting from his or her acts or omissions un

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