Recreational Property Negligence :: essays research papers

M E M O R A N D U M TO:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   FROM:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   DATE:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   RE:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cole Gershwin- Immunity for Negligence on Recreational Property _________________________________________________________ I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  STATEMENT OF FACTS Our Client, Mr. Cole Gershwin, is considering suit against the Chicago School District for injuries sustained as a result of tripping in a pothole. Gershwin, a teacher at Washington Elementary School, alleges that on October 10, 2000 at 12:20 pm, he was walking from the school to the teacher’s parking lot, and tripped in a pothole and fell. The walkway where Gershwin fell is adjacent to a parking lot that was converted from a portion of the playground area. The walkway is used by teachers to travel to and from the parking lot. The walkway is marked with yellow stripes and is bordered on the southern edge by orange construction cones that the school is going to replace with additional fencing. There is a sign on the fence separating the parking lot from the walkway that reads: â€Å"Walkway for Teachers Only.† Students occasionally use the walkway as a â€Å"safe† zone for games of tag. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  QUESTION PRESENTED Whether school property, classified as recreational and cursorily used by students during their recreation, immune from civil action under the Illinois Tort Immunity Act 3-106; when the school has the area sectioned off implying that it does not intend for the property to be used recreationally. III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CONCLUSION No. The elements necessary to make the property recreational are not satisfied in this situation. The school district shows no intended use of the property for recreational purposes, nor does it show permitted use of the property for recreational purposes. Although the walkway is occasionally used by children for games of tag, this is incidental usage of the property, and thus  § 3-106 is inapplicable. Additionally, the primary purpose of the walkway is to facilitate travel to and from the parking lot, making the walkway nonrecreational in character. IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DISCUSSION Immunity from liability is determined by examining the character of the property in question. In order to establish immunity, the school board must show intent for the property to be used for recreation, or that the property is permitted to be used for recreational purposes, where that use is not incidental. Factors that weigh on the court’s decision to identify property as recreational include the overall usefulness of the walkway to facilitate access to the recreational facility, the primary purpose of the walkway, and viewing the property in question as a â€Å"unified whole.