Kenley v. Inwood Property Investments, Inc.

By summary judgment, the trial court determined that defendant could not legally be held liable in money damages for a child who fell from a dock on a seawall into an open body of water covering sharp rocks. Among other things, plaintiff alleged that the property owner was negligent in failing to erect safety barriers and warnings. In affirming, we reject the father’s contention that the “open and obvious” doctrine as applied to bodies of water is not applicable when the victim is a young child.

The outcome in this case is yet another result of the rule applied in the line of cases represented…