Address the following situations using IRAC methodology. You should do a thorough analysis, however, you do not need to determine who prevails in the suit. Provide your responses for each case summary

Question #1

Ann Montgomery and her husband attended a wedding at Belle Mansion on the evening of June 20, 2014. They chose not to valet park their car and instead self-parked in an adjacent parking lot. To enter the Belle Mansion clubhouse from that parking lot, Montgomery and her husband walked up a sloping driveway next to other cars waiting to valet park, approached the front entrance of the clubhouse, and entered through the front door. In doing so, Montgomery did not pass by or step up onto the curb at the location where she later fell.

Montgomery and her husband left the reception at approximately 11:00 p.m. Montgomery exited the front door of the clubhouse and turned immediately left down a tiled patio heading toward the parking lot where her car was parked. Her husband remained at the entrance to the club talking with friends. After walking several steps along the tiled patio, Montgomery decided to step off the patio onto the sloping driveway leading towards the parking lot. At the point where she stepped off the patio, the curb dividing the patio from the driveway was painted red. Montgomery was aware there was a step down but the step was higher than she anticipated. As she stepped off, her foot "kept going" and she fell. Montgomery testified that the curb is "at least twelve (12) inches high, which is twice the height of the average curb, without any warning to [pedestrians]." Montgomery sued Belle Mansion.

On behalf of Belle Mansion, a professional civil engineer explained that the clubhouse sits at the top of a small hill with a circular driveway in front that declines in both directions going away from the clubhouse toward the street. As the driveway declines, the patio attached to the front of the clubhouse remains relatively level, resulting in a gradual increase of the curb height towards the northwest corner of the patio where Montgomery stepped off of the curb. According to the expert "[v]arying curb heights is consistent with common construction practices." The curb is painted red along the entire length of the club's front elevation and all the way down the driveway. The curb is visible to both a pedestrian standing in the driveway and a pedestrian standing on the patio who attempts to step down. Further, because the driveway and tiled patio are made from different construction materials, there is clear contrast between the patio and driveway, and the edge of the patio is clearly visible. The expert stated that the curb does not violate any applicable building or construction codes or any city codes or municipal ordinances.

Belle Mansions general manager stated that there had been no material alterations to the structure or appearance of the curb or the front of the club since he began his employment in 2009. The manager further averred that, in his role as general manager, he is notified of all reported injuries, accidents, falls or other incidents concerning the premises, as well as complaints made to staff by members or guests related to any condition of the premises. With the exception of Montgomery's fall, there had been no reported falls or other similar incidents related to the curb during the entirety of his employment, and he had never been notified of any complaints concerning the curb.

However, when shown a picture of the view while looking down from the patio to the driveway around the point where Montgomery stepped off, the manager stated that it was difficult to determine the change in the curb height from the photograph. The manager also agreed it was possible other people may have fallen off the curb because it was too high, and he just did not know about it. Citation Omitted.

Discuss Montgomerys claim(s) and Belle Mansions response(s).