Coleman v. Dave's Supermarket, 88661 (5-17-2007)
Coleman v. Dave's Supermarket, 88661 (5-17-2007)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} Plaintiff-appellant, Jean Coleman, appeals the decision of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas that granted defendant-appellee, Dave's Supermarket, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment. Finding no error in the proceedings below, we affirm.
{¶ 3} On Saturday, December 20, 2003, at approximately 7:15 a.m., Coleman went to Dave's Supermarket with a neighbor. It was snowing lightly, and it was cold. There was slush in the parking lot. Coleman attempted to enter the store through the entrance doors, but they were not working. Coleman then entered through the exit door as her neighbor had already done.
{¶ 4} Coleman slipped and fell. She fell on both of her knees and primarily injured her right knee, right ankle, and bruised her right shoulder and the inner part of her left leg. There were no rugs or mats or warnings in the exit area.
{¶ 5} Coleman filed a complaint against Dave's Supermarket for negligence. Summary judgment was granted in favor of Dave's Supermarket, and Coleman appeals. She advances one assignment of error for our review, which states the following:
{¶ 6} "The trial court improperly granted appellee's motion for summary judgment because there is a genuine issue of material fact remaining as to whether *Page 4 or not defendant, which owed a duty to plaintiff, as a business invitee, breached the duty, and an injury proximately resulted therefrom. Defendant owed plaintiff, a patron, a duty of ordinary care in maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition so that plaintiff, as a customer, was not unreasonably exposed to an unnecessary danger."
{¶ 7} This court reviews a trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Ekstrom v. Cuyahoga County Comm. College,
{¶ 8} In order to defeat a motion for summary judgment on a negligence claim, a plaintiff must establish that a genuine issue of material fact remains as to whether (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (2) the defendant breached that duty; and (3) the breach of duty proximately caused the plaintiff's injury. Texler v. D.O. SummersCleaners Shirt Laundry Co. (1998),
{¶ 9} In this case, there is no dispute that Coleman was a business invitee. Dave's Supermarket owes a business invitee a duty of ordinary care by maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition so that its customers are not unnecessarily and unreasonably exposed to danger. See Paschal v. Rite Aid Pharmacy, Inc. (1985),
{¶ 10} The Supreme Court of Ohio has long held: "Owners or lessees of stores, * * * are not insurers against all forms of accidents that may happen * * *. It is not the duty of persons in control of such buildings to keep a large force of moppers to mop up the rain as fast as it falls or blows in, or is carried in by wet feet or clothing or umbrellas, for several very good reasons, all so obvious that it is wholly *Page 6
unnecessary to mention them here in detail." S.S. Kresge Co. v.Fader (1927),
{¶ 11} In Marason v. Riser Foods, Inc. (Nov. 10, 1999), Cuyahoga App. No. 76509, applying Paschal, this court held that no duty existed in a slip-and-fall case when plaintiff claimed that the grocery store created the hazard when grocery carts were brought into the store from the outside, which had snow-covered sidewalks. See, also, Del Balso v. FredW. Apbrecht Grocery Co. (Mar. 7, 1991), Cuyahoga App. No. 60144.
{¶ 12} In this case, Coleman testified that it was snowing lightly outside, that there was slush in the parking lot, and that she was wearing her winter boots. Further, Coleman could only speculate as to what caused her fall. She testified that she "felt it was because it was wet," which was based on the fact that her pants were wet when she got up. "An inference of negligence does not arise from mere guess, speculation, or wishful thinking, but rather can arise only upon proof of some fact from which such inference can reasonably be drawn."Goodin v. The Kroger Co. (June 21, 1993), Butler App. No. CA93-01-009, citing Parras v. Standard Oil Co. *Page 7
(1953),
{¶ 13} In light of the foregoing case law and the testimony set forth by Coleman, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Dave's Supermarket. Accordingly, Coleman's sole assignment of error is overruled.
Judgment affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover from appellant costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate be sent to said court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
*Page 1JAMES J. SWEENEY, P. J., and MARY EILEEN KILBANE, J., CONCUR.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jean Coleman v. Dave's Supermarket, Inc.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published