Paula Yates appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Edinburgh Community School Corporation ("School Corporation") in her personal injury negligence action against the School Corporation and others. The restated issues before us are:
I. Whether the trial court correctly concluded that School Corporation owed no duty to Yates; and
II. Whether Yates was contributorily negligent as a matter of law.
Conclusion (slip op. at 16): The trial court erred in concluding that School Corporation owed no duty to Yates. Furthermore, Yates was not contributorily negligent as a matter of law. We reverse the grant of summary judgment in favor of School Corporation.
Key Analysis (slip op. at 14, 16): School Corporation did owe a duty to Yates, specifically with respect to the injuring instrumentality in this case, the stairs. Moreover, there is a question of fact as to whether Yates was at School Hill at the School Corporation’s express or implied invitation. Thus, the alleged obviousness of any defects in the stairs does not automatically absolve the School Corporation of liability for Yates’s injuries . . . Although Yates may have been aware of some potential dangers associated with the stairs, she was not per se negligent in using them.
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