News
Dismissal in Slip and Fall Case
Cliff Wilson obtained dismissal in a negligence action. In this case, the Plaintiff appealed the trial court's award of summary judgment in favor of Defendant business owner. While exiting Defendant's convenience store, Plaintiff fell from the curb and sustained injuries. She and her husband filed a complaint against Defendant business owner, alleging that its failure to mark the curb properly and to light the area sufficiently caused her to fall. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment along with a statement of undisputed facts. In her deposition, Plaintiff testified that (1) she had entered the store by way of the curb and knew a step was there; (2) she, nonetheless, got panicked when she could not see her husband and focused on finding him while she was exiting the store; (3) she would not have fallen if she had looked down; (4) she would not have noticed fluorescent marking on the curb in any event, due to her state of mind; and (5) she had no problem with the lighting. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the case, finding that Defendant successfully negated the essential elements of Plaintiff's claim.