At around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2009, plaintiff Lisa Larson, 53, was walking on a sidewalk in front of her home in Elk Grove. When she reached the area at the end of her driveway, she slipped on ice that had formed that very cold morning. Larson sued the landlord of the adjacent property, Donald Lee; Mr. Lee’s mother, Gladys Lee; the Donald R. Lee 1999 Trust; the believed tenants of the adjacent property, Cindy Moua and Youa Moua; and the property management company that managed the adjacent property’s day-to-day functioning, Realty Roundup Inc. Larson alleged that the defendants failed to repair the sprinklers on the adjacent property, causing ice to form and create a dangerous condition. It was ultimately determined that Ms. Lee passed away long ago and that the Mouas were actually former tenants. As a result, Ms. Lee and the Mouas were dismissed from the case. It was also determined that there was enough coverage for Mr. Lee, so the trust was dismissed. In addition, it was determined that Mr. Lee controlled everything, including the adjacent property’s maintenance, so Realty Roundup was also dismissed. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Mr. Lee only. Larson claimed that not only were Mr. Lee’s sprinklers on every day during the winter months in 2009, the sprinklers were malfunctioning, causing water to spray directly onto Larson’s driveway and sidewalk. Thus, she claimed that Mr. Lee was negligent for failing to turn his sprinklers off in the winter and for failing to perform a reasonable inspection of his property in a timely manner, such that Mr. Lee had constructive notice of the malfunctioning sprinklers. Plaintiff’s counsel presented evidence that allegedly showed that Mr. Lee’s sprinklers were not inspected in August 2009 and that Mr. Lee allegedly did not inspect the sprinklers in October 2009, as was his custom and practice. Mr. Lee claimed that the failure to turn off sprinklers in the winter months did not constitute negligence. He also claimed that it was water from Larson’s property which created the ice. That notwithstanding, Mr. Lee alleged that Larson was contributorily negligent in that she knew of the sprinklers spraying on to her property, yet failed to use caution when walking down her driveway., Larson sustained a trimalleolar dislocation fracture of her left ankle. She was subsequently taken by ambulance to Methodist Hospital of Sacramento and later underwent open reduction and internal fixation with the placement of a plate and multiple screws on Dec. 10, 2009. Four months later, a subsequent surgery was required to remove the screw holding the repaired ankle joint in place and replace the screw with a tightrope. The tightrope will remain in the ankle until an ankle replacement or ankle fusion is needed. As a result of the fracture, Larson developed arthritis in the ankle, which she alleged will worsen with time. She claimed she suffers physical limitations, including reduced mobility and swelling of the ankle when standing, walking, or sitting at her desk for more than two hours. She also claimed she experiences arthritic pain on a daily basis, which is worse in the winter months. Thus, Larson sought recovery of past medical expenses for the two surgeries and subsequent treatment, as well as recovery of damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Larson’s husband initially brought a loss-of-consortium claim, but he was dismissed from the case prior to trial.