Public Law
Public Law Journal: Winter 2020, Vol. 43, No. 1
Content
- 2019-2020 Executive Committee of the Public Law Section
- 2019-2020 Public Law Journal Editorial Board
- Employee Housing Assistance—Legal Considerations for California Public Agencies
- Litigation & Case Law Update
- Message from the Chair
- Public Lawyer Spotlight: Jerrilyn Malana, Chief Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorney's Office
- Student Writing Competition Runner-Up Article: the Straight Jacket on Federal Employees' Right to Strike
- California Public Entities' Duty to Light Streets: the Erosion of the Peculiar Condition Exception
California Public Entities’ Duty to Light Streets: The Erosion of the Peculiar Condition Exception
By Andrew J. Chan
Andrew J. Chan is a Senior Associate in Ericksen Arbuthnot’s Oakland/East Bay office and a member of the firm’s Appellate, Construction, and Real Estate Practice Groups.
Absent a statutory or charter provision, public entities generally are under no duty to light streets and any alleged failure to light them is not actionable negligence.1
For more than three decades, however, California courts have recognized a potential exception where a "peculiar condition" may render lighting necessary in order to make the streets safe for travel.2