Barnhisel v. Village of Oak Park

The plaintiff, Helen Barnhisel, instituted the instant personal injury action against the defendant, Village of Oak Park (the Village), seeking recovery for injuries she sustained when she tripped on a crack in a sidewalk and stumbled into a tree cut-out area adjacent to the sidewalk. The trial court granted summary judgment to the Village, finding the Village owed no duty of care because the crack in the sidewalk was de minimis and because the tree cut-out area, which it characterized as a “parkway,” did not create a condition in the nature of “a pitfall, trap, or snare.” Upon the denial of…