Taylor v. City of Newport News

The sole question to be decided in this case is whether a city may be held liable in damages for personal injuries sustained by a pedestrian in a fall caused by a slippery substance negligently spilled on a public sidewalk by a city employee while collecting garbage. The trial court, in granting the motion of the defendant city of Newport News to strike the evidence, ruled that governmental immunity pro tected the city from liability in such a case. The unsuccessful plaintiff has appealed the adverse judgment.

The plaintiff, Marjorie Taylor, was injured when she alighted from a bus in the city…