Appeals court hears dispute over condo snow pile that led to Andrews' fall

At oral argument before the Utah Court of Appeals, attorneys for Kathy Andrews and Stony Brook Condominium Association disputed whether a pile of snow and underlying ice created by neighbor William Thomason was an "open and obvious" hazard and whether summary judgment was proper in Andrews' slip-and-fall appeal (Case No. 20240581).

The issue matters because the court's answer will affect whether the open-and-obvious danger doctrine or ordinary negligence principles govern claims that arise when a person slips on a human-made accumulation of snow or ice on a sidewalk. If the condition is open and obvious and not the subject of a special duty, a possessor of land can avoid liability; if factual disputes remain about dangerousness or foreseeability, the case typically belongs to a jury.

Ryan Schreiber, counsel for appellant Kathy Andrews, told the panel there were "really straightforward facts" that the plaintiff fell on a pile of snow and that the pile existed and was created…