Motion of Summary Judgement Granted in Slip and Fall Case

February 23, 2022

A motion for summary judgment was granted by Federal Court Judge Dolly Gee in favor of a store owner in a premises liability case. Lisa D. Angelo and Scott J. Loeding of Murchison & Cumming, LLP represented the defendant.

The case concerned a slip and fall over alleged water that had been spilled on the floor. Video surveillance showed that in a separate room around the corner from where the fall took place the defendant's employees were cleaning up something on the ground with towels and left a mound of towels on the floor. The court ruled that even if the defendant was negligent in one part of the store, that did not mean that they were negligent in the place where the plaintiff fell and there was no causal link between the plaintiff's fall and the alleged spill of water leakage around the corner. Consequently the court granted a summary judgment in favor of the store owner.