Commercial landowner may have duty to take reasonable steps to render public walkway reasonably free of snow and/or ice during ongoing storm, despite previously applied on-going storm rule.

The plaintiff appealed the trial court’s application of the on-going storm rule, which provided that a commercial property owner had no duty to remove snow or ice until after precipitation ended. The petitioner owned a mixed-use building that was part commercial offices and part residential apartments, which abutted a public sidewalk. When the plaintiff was walking on the adjacent public sidewalk to get to work, he slipped and fell on black ice. Twenty-eight hours before this accident, the National Weather Service issued an advisory predicting one inch of snow and/or sleet with trace amounts of ice. However, no snow or ice remediation had occurred prior to the plaintiff’s accident.

On appeal, the court held that a commercial landowner has a duty to take reasonable steps to render a public walkway abutting its property—covered by snow or ice—reasonably safe, even when precipitation is falling. The commercial landowner's liability may arise only if, after actual or constructive notice, it fails to act in a reasonably prudent manner to remove or reduce the foreseeable hazard. Pareja creates new guidance for defense attorneys seeking to shield their clients from slip-and-fall liability during an ongoing storm.

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