Williams v. The City of Chicago

              FIFTH DIVISION
January 12, 2007
No. 1-05-3856
MICHELLE WILLIAMS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Cook County.
)
. ) No. 03 L 7208
)
THE CITY OF CHICAGO, ) Honorable
) Arnette R. Hubbard,
Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge Presiding.
PRESIDING JUSTICE O'BRIEN delivered the opinion of the court:
Plaintiff, Michelle Williams, filed a complaint sounding in negligence against defendant,
the City of Chicago, seeking recovery for injuries allegedly suffered when she fell while stepping
on a curb at or near 6725 South Campbell Avenue in Chicago. The circuit court granted a
directed verdict in favor of defendant, finding that defendant owed no duty to plaintiff because she
had jaywalked in order to access the curb upon which she fell. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
At trial, plaintiff testified that on February 7, 2003, she visited the home of a friend,
Gwendolyn Jackson, in the 6700 block of South Campbell Avenue. Kimball Johnson drove
plaintiff there and parked the car directly across the street from Ms. Jackson's home. The
passenger side of the car was parked along the curb. Plaintiff, who was sitting in the front
passenger seat, exited the vehicle and went inside Ms. Jackson's home. At about 11:30 p.m.,
plaintiff left Ms. Jackson's home and walked directly across the street at mid-block, not at a
crosswalk. She walked around the back of the vehicle. She did not look down and did not see
anything concerning the condition of the curb. She stepped up onto the curb with her right foot,
then brought her left foot up on the curb. She turned and stepped forward with her right foot,