Krystal Tilley, individually and on behalf of Elijah Tilley v. City of Walker, City of Walker Parks and Recreation, City of Walker Department of Public Works and Parish of Livingston, 294 So.3d 496

On Oct. 15, 2015, minor Elijah Tilley fell from a seesaw at C. E. “Punk” Smith Memorial Park and suffered a broken arm requiring surgery; his mother Krystal Tilley sued the City of Walker and related city departments.
The City admitted ownership of the park, denied notice of any defect, denied causation, and moved for summary judgment; it also asserted statutory recreational-immunity defenses.
Tilley produced expert reports from Dr. Thomas C. Shelton describing worn components, missing bolts, prior repairs/welds, and mechanical instability of the seesaw; a supplemental report and affidavit were later filed.
The trial court granted the City’s summary-judgment motion and dismissed the claims with prejudice; Tilley appealed and the trial court later granted supplementation of the record with the expert affidavit and report.
On de novo review, the appellate court concluded Tilley created genuine issues of material fact as to defect and constructive notice but failed to produce any evidence connecting the alleged defect to causation of Elijah’s injury, so summary judgment was affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the seesaw was a defective thing creating an unreasonable risk	Dr. Shelton’s reports show worn parts, missing bolts, loose rails, and prior repairs establishing a defect	No evidence in discovery showed a defect; City’s inspection/records showed no complaints	Genuine issue of material fact exists as to defect (reversed for trial on defect issue)
Whether the City had actual or constructive notice of the defect	Worn surfaces and prior repairs indicate long-term problems and prior repair activity, supporting constructive notice	City had no record of complaints and staff observed no prior problems	Genuine issue of material fact exists as to constructive notice
Whether plaintiff produced evidence of causation	Plaintiff argued the defective condition caused the fall	City argued there is no evidence linking the defect to the accident; no eyewitness or expert causation opinion	Held for City — plaintiff failed to produce factual support showing causation; summary judgment proper
Admissibility/timeliness of expert reports and objections	Plaintiff supplemented with affidavit and supplemental report; original report was not objected to by City	City objected to the late/supplemental unsworn report at the hearing	Court accepted the expert affidavit/report for review (original and supplemental reports not timely objected to in required manner), but lack of causation evidence was dispositive

Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, LLC v. City of Baton Rouge, 255 So. 3d 16 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (summary-judgment/de novo standard)
Broussard v. State ex rel. Office of State Bldgs., 113 So. 3d 175 (La. 2013) (public-entity liability for defective things under La. R.S. 9:2800)
Barnett v. City of Baton Rouge, 206 So. 3d 904 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (elements required to prove liability for defective thing)
Bunge N. Am., Inc. v. Bd. of Commerce & Indus., 991 So. 2d 511 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (unsworn reports/letters are not competent summary-judgment evidence)
Mariakis v. North Oaks Health Sys., 258 So. 3d 88 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (documents not timely objected to under La. C.C.P. art. 966(D)(2) must be considered)
Unifund CCR Partners v. Perkins, 134 So. 3d 626 (La. App. 1st Cir.) (affidavits and sworn materials required to supplement summary-judgment record)