Green v. Franchise Management Dev., Unpublished Decision (2-12-2000)
Green v. Franchise Management Dev., Unpublished Decision (2-12-2000)
Concurring Opinion
I concur with the result reached by the majority in the case; however, I believe much of the discussion in the majority opinion is unnecessary to the disposition of the issue. Appellant presented evidence that after she fell, she saw that the floor was wet, and an area four to five feet away from her that appeared to have been mopped. However, there is no evidence that appellee or its agent has superior knowledge of the condition of the floor, and failed to give notice to patrons or remedy the condition. Debbie, supra. Appellant testified that she did not see the wetness of the floor before she fell, and presented no evidence that the condition was visible from a position other than floor level. The mere fact that the floor had been mopped does not demonstrate negligence. Appellant presented no evidence demonstrating that appellee breached a duty of care, proximately causing her to fall. Therefore, the summary judgment should be affirmed.
WISE, P.J. concur. GWIN, J. concurs separately.
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Plaintiffs-appellants Pauline and Charles Green appeal the May 10, 1999, Judgment Entry of the Richland County Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee Franchise Management Development, Inc.THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING DEFENDANT/APPELLEE'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT.
Summary judgment proceedings present the appellate court with the unique opportunity of reviewing the evidence in the same manner as the trial court. Smiddy v. The Wedding Party, Inc. (1987),
Pursuant to the above rule, a trial court may not enter a summary judgment if it appears a material fact is genuinely disputed. The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of informing the trial court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. The moving party may not make a conclusory assertion that the non-moving party has no evidence to prove its case. The moving party must specifically point to some evidence which demonstrates the non-moving party cannot support its claim. If the moving party satisfies this requirement, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to set forth specific facts demonstrating there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Vahila v. Hall (1997),
But construing the deposition and affidavit most strongly in appellant's favor, we do not find a contradiction between appellant's affidavit and her deposition as to what caused the wet floor. In reaching this conclusion, we have considered the exchange on pages 38 and 39 of appellant's deposition: Q. . . . what was this wetness on the floor? A. It was just wet. Q. Okay. Wet with water? A. Sure. Q. Okay. Was it anything other than water? A. Not that I know. Q. Okay. Was it water tracked in on people's feet? A. I don't think so. Q. Okay. A. I think it'd been mopped. I'm sure.
In considering the deposition in toto, it can be construed that appellant was sure that the floor was wet because it had been mopped, but she was unable to say absolutely, positively it was mopped because she had not seen anyone mopping it. We, therefore, do not find that appellant's affidavit and her deposition directly contradict each other as to what caused the floor to be wet. However, what appellant cannot establish is that the portion of the floor where she slipped was wet. In her affidavit, appellant stated that she saw the floor was wet approximately four or five feet past her feet. (See quote above from the affidavit.) In her deposition, the following was elicited: Q. So you wouldn't have fallen where you saw wetness here where you put this circle, would you have? A. No. Q. All right. A. That's where I could look. That's the only place I could look. Q. Well, did you look at the area that you had walked over to see if it was wet? A. No, I did not. I was in so much pain I did not try to look around to see what was going on. Deposition at page 40-41.
We find appellant has presented specific facts to demonstrate that an area of the floor 4 to 5 feet from her appeared to have been mopped recently and was wet. However, appellant has failed to present specific facts that show that the place where she slipped was wet. Construing the evidence most strongly in favor of appellant we cannot find that the appellee (or an agent) through his conduct, was responsible for creating the condition which caused appellant's fall. In the alternative, appellant could survive summary judgment if she could present specific facts showing that appellee or one of appellee's agents had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition (even though not responsible for the condition) and failed to give notice to the patrons or remedy the situation. However, since the appellant cannot establish that the place where she slipped was wet, then the issue of whether the appellee (or an agent) knew or should have known the floor was wet is moot. But assuming arguendo that appellant had established that the place where she slipped was wet, she has not established that appellee (or its agent) had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition and failed to give notice to patrons or remedy the condition. The duty of premises owners to take precautionary measures to correct or warn patrons of hazardous conditions is predicated upon the owners' superior knowledge concerning these dangers. Debbie v. Cochran Pharmacy — Burwick, Inc. (1967),
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.