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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA 98-C-1259 CONSOLIDATED WITH 98-C-1288 SANDRA JONES, ET AL versus FLOYD HAWKINS, JR., ET AL ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL, SECOND CIRCUIT, PARISH OF CADDO KIMBALL, J.* We granted writs in this case to resolve the split of opinion among the courts of appeal regarding whether a city's lack of a plan of inspection for defects in its streets constitutes constructive notice on the city's part of existing defects in the streets. We hold that lack of a plan does not give rise to a finding that the city had constructive knowledge of such defects. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The instant accident occurred on July 25, 1993, when a bicycle ridden by Terrance Jones, a six-year-old boy, collided with an automobile driven by Floyd Hawkins, Jr., a fifty-nine-year old man. The accident happened at the intersection of Calhoun Street, which runs north and south, and Chester Street, which runs east and west, in Shreveport, Louisiana. There is a hill on Calhoun street immediately before its intersection with Chester. There are no stop or yield signs at the intersection, nor is there a traffic light. The only residence at the intersection is a house, owned by T.C. and Cleo Alexander, that is enclosed by a chain-link fence and is located at the southeast corner of the intersection. The fence and the trees that surround the house are both covered with overgrown foliage. Testimony at trial established both that this foliage was seasonal and that it had been there for a very long time. On the date of the accident, Hawkins was traveling between 15 and 20 miles per hour in a westerly direction on Chester when Terrance, who had been riding in a northerly direction on Calhoun, overshot the right turn he was making onto Chester. When Hawkins saw Terrance, he

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Knoll, J., not on panel. Rule IV, Part 2,

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Louisiana Law