CRAMER v. COUNTY OF ERIE (2005)

 Plaintiff commenced this action seeking damages for injuries that he sustained when he fell into a ravine in a park located on property owned by defendant county.   Supreme Court properly granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.   Insofar as plaintiff alleges that defendant was negligent in failing to erect warning signs around the ravine, it is well established that there is no duty to warn of a hazard that is readily observable by the use of one's own senses (see Duclos v. County of Monroe, 258 A.D.2d 925, 926, 685 N.Y.S.2d 549;  Tushaj v. City of New York, 258 A.D.2d 283, 284, 685 N.Y.S.2d 64, lv. denied 93 N.Y.2d 818, 697 N.Y.S.2d 566, 719 N.E.2d 927;  Coote v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 234 A.D.2d 907, 909, 651 N.Y.S.2d 799;  Plate v. City of Rochester, 217 A.D.2d 984, 629 N.Y.S.2d 600, lv. denied 87 N.Y.2d 801, 637 N.Y.S.2d 688, 661 N.E.2d 160), particularly where, as here, the ravine “is a natural geographical phenomenon, the danger of which is open and obvious rather than latent” (Coote, 234 A.D.2d at 909, 651 N.Y.S.2d 799;  see Rosen v. New York Zoological Socy., 281 A.D.2d 238, 238-239, 722 N.Y.S.2d 31;  Tushaj, 258 A.D.2d at 284, 685 N.Y.S.2d 64).   Likewise without merit is plaintiff's allegation that defendant was negligent in failing to erect a fence or guardrail around the ravine in order to protect plaintiff from falling into it.  “It is well settled that ‘a landowner has no duty to erect barriers or fences in order to enclose natural geographical phenomena which do not in some way represent latent dangers or conditions, so as to prevent persons coming upon the land from injuring themselves by entering onto the condition in question’ ” (Coote, 234 A.D.2d at 908, 651 N.Y.S.2d 799;  see Rosen, 281 A.D.2d at 238-239, 722 N.Y.S.2d 31;  Casela v. City of Troy, 161 A.D.2d 991, 557 N.Y.S.2d 562).   Finally, we conclude that plaintiff's remaining allegations concerning defendant's negligence lack merit as a matter of law.

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed without costs.

MEMORANDUM: