Shoveling Sidewalks

State v. Jackman, 69 N.H. 318 (1898) is the case so many newspaper articles refer to when they write about snow removal. It's difficult to find case law this old online, so we've scanned the print version and uploaded it.

The plaintiff brought an action seeking injunctive relief that would require the Town to make the section of sidewalk at issue accessible to persons with disabilities by removing snow from it during the winter months.

[T]o the extent a sidewalk is deemed part of a “facility” that is “required to be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities” under the ADA, the maintenance obligations of the public entity having control over the sidewalk include the reasonable removal of snow, ice or debris rendering the sidewalk inaccessible. Because, as noted above, the town concedes that 28 C.F.R. § 35.133 applies to the sidewalk at issue, the trial court did not err by concluding that the town’s maintenance obligations relative to it include the removal of snow, ice and debris. ... The refusal to remove any snow is not a reasonable limit upon the removal of snow, but is an abdication by the town of its obligation altogether.