No civil action shall be maintained against the Town of Chatham or the
Town Superintendent of Highways of the town, or against any improvement district
in the town, for damages on injuries to person or property, including those
arising from the operation of snowmobiles, sustained by reason of any highway,
bridge or culvert being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed,
unless written notice of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition
of such highway, bridge or culvert was actually given to the Town Clerk of
the town or the Town Superintendent of Highways of the town, and there was
thereafter a failure or neglect within a reasonable time to repair or remove
the defect, danger or obstruction complained of; and no such action shall
be maintained for damages or injuries to persons or property sustained solely
in consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon any highway, bridge or
culvert, unless written notice thereof, specifying the particular place, was
actually given to the Town Clerk of the town or the Town Superintendent of
Highways of the town, and there was a failure or neglect to cause such snow
or ice to be removed or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within
a reasonable time after the receipt of such notice.
No civil action will be maintained against the town and/or the Town
Superintendent of Highways of the town for damages or injuries to person or
property sustained by reason of any defect in the sidewalks of the town or
in consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon any of its sidewalks,
unless such sidewalks have been constructed or are maintained by the town
or the Town Superintendent of Highways of the town pursuant to statute, nor
shall any action be maintained for damages or injuries to person or property
sustained by reason of such defect or in consequence of such existence of
snow or ice unless written notice thereof, specifying the particular place,
was actually given to the Town Clerk of the town or to the Town Superintendent
of Highways of the town, and there was a failure or neglect to cause such
defect to be remedied, such snow or ice to be removed or to make the place
otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time after the receipt of such
notice.
The Town Superintendent of Highways of the town shall transmit, in writing,
to the Town Clerk of the town within five days after receipt thereof, all
written notices received by him pursuant to this chapter, and he shall take
any and all corrective action with respect thereto as soon as practicable.
The Town Clerk shall keep an indexed record, in a separate book, of
all written notices which he or she shall receive of the existence of a defective,
unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition in or upon, or of an accumulation
of snow or ice upon, any town highway, bridge, culvert or sidewalk, which
record shall state the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location
of the condition stated to exist and the name and address from whom the notice
is received. All such written notices shall be indexed according to the location
of the alleged defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition or the
location of accumulated snow or ice. The record of each notice shall be preserved
for a period of five years after the date it is received.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal or modify
or waive any existing requirement or statute of limitations but, on the contrary,
shall be held to be additional requirements to the rights to maintain such
action. Nothing contained herein shall be held to modify any existing rule
of law relative to the question of contributory negligence, nor to impose
upon the town, its officers and employees, and/or any of its improvement districts,
any greater duty or obligations than that it shall keep its streets, sidewalks
and public places in a reasonably safe condition for public use and travel.