Bailey v. Superior Court of Ventura County

Robert Donohue, a San Francisco firefighter, brought this action for personal injuries after he slipped and fell on wet, slick stairs during an unannounced fire safety inspection of a building owned by the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA). The California Supreme Court remanded this case for reconsideration in light of Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 296 [11 Cal. Rptr. 2d 2, 834 P.2d 696] (Knight), after we had affirmed summary judgment in favor of SFHA by applying traditional common law principles regarding assumption of the risk. Upon reconsideration in light of Knight, we conclude that assumption of the risk no longer presents an absolute bar to plaintiffs recovery, but in this factual setting constitutes a mere variant of the doctrine of contributory negligence. We will therefore reverse the judgment of the lower court.