WPC /# UN % 0(b)w@14q 0J 0T 0^: 0h 0r 0|r 0 0t 1u 0dyU>B) AQD  0D[ 0@ 0D DC# D/f B B D3 AM U*O 'y v~ vHP LaserJet 4SiHPPCL5MS,,,,,,0nLh(9 Z 6Times New Roman RegularX($- - $7%7E&7'7E(7)7E*7+7,7Ӏ67_#3|x672 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<  9p`(&Times New Roman% Line 7 d!"#$&C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5(3$ !  ("$    ($$   1  7Border 1dd((' dxd dP Pd'''''dxd!#%C << G<  9p`(Arial  !  #d#  ""  ++   YYY FILED+XJune16,1998CecilW.CrowsonAppellateCourtClerk  PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'`Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   ellan Geneva  ellan Geneva ! .       \RA'\7<XXdd7    ELAINEFAGGandTHOMASFAGG, ) FranklinCircuit      ) No.8818 Plaintiffs/Appellants,  )       ) VS.      )      ) ̜COUNTYOFFRANKLIN,  ) AppealNo.      ) 01A019710CV00589 Defendant/Appellee.   )!ٜR*,%A1-j|@`  `@Rߛ@ INTHECOURTOFAPPEALSOFTENNESSEE@ ATNASHVILLE@ APPEALFROMTHECIRCUITCOURTOFFRANKLINCOUNTY@ ATWINCHESTER,TENNESSEE  HONORABLETHOMASGRAHAM,CHANCELLOR  ̜MichelleM.Benjamin,#0012377P.O.Box177Winchester,Tennessee37398ATTORNEYFORPLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTSBenP.Lynch,#003246LYNCH,LYNCH&LYNCHP.O.Box310Winchester,Tennessee37398ATTORNEYFORDEFENDANT/APPELLEE  REVERSEDANDVACATED         HENRYF.TODD      PRESIDINGJUDGE,MIDDLESECTIONCONCUR:BENH.CANTRELL,JUDGEWILLIAMC.KOCH,JR.,JUDGE ELAINEFAGGandTHOMASFAGG, ) FranklinCircuit      ) No.8818 Plaintiffs/Appellants,  )       ) VS.      )      ) COUNTYOFFRANKLIN,  ) AppealNo.      ) 01A019710CV00589 Defendant/Appellee.   ) @  OPINIONX    Thissuitarisesfromtheinjuryofapedestrianbysteppingintoaholeinorneartheedgeofthepavedcountyroad.TheTrialJudgerenderedsummaryjudgmentinfavorofthecountyonthegroundthatthecountyowednodutytoapedestrian. Thefacts,asfoundbytheTrialJudge,are:   ` 1) Theplaintiff,ElaineFagg,wasallegedlyinjuredwhenshefellaftertrippingonapotholelocatedontheedgeofthecountyroadwayknownastheUTFarmRoad.2) TheUTFarmRoadisacountymaintainedroadconstructedofatarandchipsurfacewithnarrowtononexistentshoulders.3) TheFranklinCountyRoadDepartmentdoesnotbuildormaintainsidewalksorareasdesignatedforpedestriantrafficalongthisoranyothercountyroad.4) TheUTFarmRoadisdesignedforvehiculartrafficandliesinasparselypopulatedarea.5) TherearenorecordsintheFranklinCountyHighwayDepartmentindicatinganyproblemwiththeUTFarmRoadotherthanastoppedculvertinanunrelatedlocation.Therearefurthernoknowncomplaintsthathavebeenregisteredregardingthesubjectpothole,eitherverballyorotherwise,priortothedateofplaintiffsinjury.6) Thepotholegivingrisetotheclaimhereinmeasuredapproximatelytwelve(12)incheswideandsix(6)inchesdeepandwaslocatedontheedgeofthetarandchippedsurface.Grasswasallowedtogrowinandaroundtheoutsideedgeofthepothole.7) Plaintiffwasinjuredwhenshetrippedwhilesteppingoffthesurfacetoallowavehicletogoby.(R.148149).     AppellantsIssue:   ` I. WhetherthetrialcourterredinholdingthatimmunitywasnotremovedunderT.C.A.2920203becausethedefendanthadnodutytomaintainthecountyroadinareasonablysafeconditionforpedestrianuse.     AppelleesIssues:   `  1. Whetherthetrialcourtwascorrectingrantingthedefendantappelleesmotionforsummaryjudgment.2. Whetherthedefendantappelleehadconstructiveand/oractualnoticeofanydefective,unsafeordangerousconditionexistingintheUTFarmRoadasallegedasrequiredbyT.C.A.2920203(b).     Therecordcontainsevidenceofthefollowingfacts: TheinjuryoccurredonUniversityofTennesseeFarmRoad,whichisapavedroadoftheFranklinCountypublicroadsystemwhichisusedbybothvehiclesandpedestrians.Ithasnarrow,grasscoveredshouldersandnosidewalks.Asplaintiffswerewalkingalongtheroad,Mrs.Faggstepped tothesideoftheroad,herfootcaughtinahole12incheswideandsixinchesdeep.Grassintheareawastallandhadfallenacrosstheholeandobscureditfromview.TheRoadCommissionerwasawareofgrassgrowing4or5feettallonthesubjectroadatvarioustimesand wouldnotbesurprisedtohearthatpeoplewalkedontheroadinquestion,butinsistedthatcountryroadswerebuiltforvehiclesandnotforpeople.HeadmittedthattheCountyhadadutytokeepthegrassandweedsmowedoncountyroadsandtokeeptheroadsinareasonablysafeconditionforvehiculartravel,butnotforpedestrianuse. T.C.A.2920203readsasfollows:   ` (a)immunityfromsuitofagovernmentalentityisremovedforanyinjurycausedbyadefective,unsafeordangerousconditionofanystreet,alley,sidewalkorhighway,ownedandcontrolledbysuchgovernmentalentity.(b)Thissectionshallnotapplyunlessconstructiveand/oractualnoticetothegovernmentalentityofsuchconditionbeallegedandprovedinadditiontotheproceduralnoticerequiredby2920302.[Acts1973,ch.345,8;T.C.A.233309.]    Ӝ Thequotedstatutemakesnodistinctionbetweenvehicularandpedestrianuseofpublicroads.Itdoesrequirenoticeofaparticulardefect,butnoticemaybeinferredfromthefactsandcircumstancesofeachcase.Thelackofarecordofcomplaintsismerelyoneofmanycircumstancestobeconsideredbythefinderoffact. InHeltonv.KnoxCounty,Tenn.1996,922S.W.2d877,amotoristlosthislifewhenheranhisvehicleoffaonelane,singlearchstonebridgebuiltin1895inahilly,sparselyinhabitedareaandwaslittleused.Theapproachtothebridgeincludedarailroadcrossingandtwo90degreecurves.Asignontheapproachread: WarningOneLaneBridgeAhead,and paddleboardscontinuedthewarning,andreflectivepaintmarkedtheedgesoftheroad.Theonlydefectallegedwastheabsenceofguardrailswhichwerenotrequiredwhenthebridgewasbuilt,butwerestandardatthetimeoftheinjury.TheSupremeCourtheldthattheinstallationofguardrailsonacountyroadwaywasa discretionaryfunctionthatinvolvespublicpolicyconsiderationandthat governmentalimmunityispreservedunderTenn.CodeAnn.2920205(1)aswell,citingBowersv.CityofChattanooga,Tenn.1992,826S.W.2d427. Becauseofthewidedifferencebetweentheabsenceofguardrailsonacenturyold,onelanebridgeandpavedhighwayovergrownwithvegetationhidingapothole12incheswideand6inchesdeep,thequotedauthorityisnotdeemedtobedeterminativeofthepresentappeal. Ithasbeenheldthatapublicroadauthoritymaynotbeheldliableforaminorvariationor stepoffinapublicroad.However,nosuchholdinghasbeenfoundinreferencetoapotholesixinchesdeepandtwelveincheswide.Theverysizeoftheholeissufficienttofurnishareasonableinferenceastothedurationofthedefect. Undertheevidencesummarizedabove,thequestionofwhethertheroadinquestionwasmaintainedinareasonablysafeconditionandwhetherthepublicauthorityhadreasonablenoticeofanunsafeconditionwereissuesoffactandshouldnothavebeenforeclosedbysummaryjudgment.Brydv.Hall,Tenn.1993,847S.W.2d208.Dooleyv.Everett,Tenn.App.1990,805S.W.2d380. Therightofthepublictowalkonapublicroadiswellestablished.T.C.A.558133139,prescribesthesafeuseofhighwaysbypedestrians.558138(b)refersspecificallytopedestrianswherenosidewalkisprovided. Intheabsenceofastatuteorordinancetothecontrary,apedestrianhasthesamerighttouseandtraveluponanyportionofapublichighwayorstreetatanytimeofthedayornight.7aAm.Jr.AutomobilesandHighwayTraffic,13p.540. ThisCourtholdsthattheevidenceinthisrecordisnotsoconclusiveastoentitlethedefendanttojudgmentasamatteroflaw.̜ ThejudgmentoftheTrialCourtisreversedandvacated.Costsofthisappealaretaxedagainstthedefendant.Thecauseisremandedforappropriatefurtherproceedings.  REVERSEDANDVACATED   ̜       _________________________________       HENRYF.TODD        PRESIDINGJUDGE,MIDDLESECTION  ̛̜̜CONCUR:_____________________________BENH.CANTRELL,JUDGE_____________________________WILLIAMC.KOCH,JR.,JUDGE