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262 N.C. 601

138 S.E.2d 213

Evans v. Batten

Supreme Court of North Carolina

Decided October 14, 1964

Supreme Court of North Carolina · decided 1964-10-14

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“[s]light depressions, unevenness and irregularities in outdoor walkways, sidewalks and streets are so common that their presence is to be anticipated by prudent persons.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Harding v. LOWE'S FOOD STORES, INC.

Relies on Little v. Wilson Oil Corporation · Perrell v. BEATY SERVICE COMPANY · Bagwell v. Town of Brevard

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1964-10-14

How this case has been cited

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently February 2006

12 state decisions

4019641970198019902000decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

PeR Cueiam.

¶1 Plaintiff appellant contends that the facts alleged are sufficient to show that the indenture was a dangerous condition to defendant’s knowledge, defendant should have foreseen that rain, melting snow and ice would flow across and tend to obscure it, and defendant neglected to give warning. We do not agree. Slight depressions, unevenness and irregularities in outdoor walkways, sidewalks and streets are so common that their presence is to be anticipated by prudent persons. We are unable to distinguish this case from those in a long line of decisions by this Court. For examples, see: Falatovitch v. Clinton, 259 N.C. 58, 129 S.E. 2d 598; Bagwell v. Brevard, 256 N.C. 465, 124 S.E. 2d 129; Little v. Oil Co., 249 N.C. 773, 107 S.E. 2d 729; Welling v. Charlotte, 241 N.C. 312, 85 S.E. 2d 379. The demurrer was properly sustained.

¶2 Assuming that the factual allegations of the complaint are true, as we must in considering demurrer, we conclude that plaintiff has no *603 cause of action against defendant. Therefore, it was proper to dismiss' the action. Perrell v. Service Co., 248 N.C. 153, 102 S.E. 2d 785.

¶3 Affirmed.

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