Fore! Stairs on “Putt-Putt” Golf Course Found to be Open and Obvious

“Because steps are the type of everyday occurrence that people encounter, under most circumstances, a reasonably prudent person will look where he is going, will observe the steps, and will take appropriate care for his own safety.” Cappell v Willow Creek Golf Dome, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, issued April 2, 2020 (Docket No. 345812), p 4.

In Cappell, unpub op at 4, “plaintiff argued that the steps were near the woods and it was dusk at the time she fell – and therefore too dark outside to notice the step….”

However, “her fall took place in early evening in July in Michigan, and … it was not yet dusk outside when plaintiff fell.” Id. Therefore, the panel found “no question that the existence of stairs was quite obvious, so an average person of ordinary intelligence would have been alerted to the stairs as well as the need to determine where the first step was located.” Id.

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