Kane v. Landscape Structures, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Georgia
709 S.E.2d 876 (2011)
Nine-year-old Steven Kane (plaintiff) fell and was injured while climbing playground equipment designed for children aged 18 months to three years. The equipment had a pitched roof that older children, including Kane, routinely climbed in order to jump off, and Kane fell while climbing up toward that roof. The Kanes sued the equipment's manufacturer, Landscape Structures, Inc. (defendant), and Landscape moved for summary judgment based on assumption of the risk. At trial, Kane admitted the equipment was designed for younger children and wasn't meant for roof-climbing. The trial court granted summary judgment for Landscape, and Kane appealed.
Whether a defendant establishes that a plaintiff assumed a risk by showing the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the danger, understood and appreciated the associated risk, and voluntarily exposed himself to it.