Matus v. Jacts Group, L.L.C.
Matus v. Jacts Group, L.L.C.
Opinion
{¶ 1} Appellant-Plaintiff, Marlene Matus, appeals the judgment of the Medina County Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants-Appellees, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn Enterprises. For the reasons that follow, we reverse, and remand.
I.
{¶ 2} On March 12, 2013, Ms. Matus had lunch with friends at a restaurant operated by The Jacts Group in a building constructed by Golden Dawn. Upon leaving the restaurant, Ms. Matus was injured when she fell walking from an elevated area to the ground level of the restaurant near a single riser stair.
{¶ 3} Ms. Matus thereafter filed a complaint against The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn on March 11, 2015. Ms. Matus' deposition was conducted and a site inspection of the restaurant took place, however, Ms. Matus voluntarily dismissed the case on February 19, 2016.
{¶ 4} Ms. Matus re-filed her complaint against The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn Enterprises, asserting claims of negligence against the defendants on February 15, 2017. On March 23, 2017, the trial court ordered that all discovery conducted in the previous case would apply in the present matter. Thereafter, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn filed a joint motion for summary judgment on April 10, 2017. On May 24, 2017, Matus filed a motion for leave of court to amend her complaint and a motion for an order that requests for admission one through six directed to The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn be deemed admitted. Ms. Matus filed a response to the motion for summary judgment on June 2, 2017. The trial court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn. The trial court did not expressly rule upon Ms. Matus' motions for leave to amend her complaint or for an order that requests for admission one through six directed to The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn be deemed admitted.
{¶ 5} Ms. Matus filed this timely appeal, raising three assignments of error for our review.
II.
Assignment of Error I
The lower court erred when it granted summary judgments for the appellees.
{¶ 6} In her first assignment of error, Ms. Matus contends that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn. For the following reasons, we agree.
{¶ 7} In their motion for summary judgment, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn argued that Ms. Matus' claim failed as a matter of law because she had already traversed the step at issue or, in the alternative, because the step constituted an open and obvious condition. Under Civ.R. 56(C), summary judgment is appropriate when:
(1)[no] genuine issue as to any material fact remains to be litigated; (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) it appears from the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and viewing such evidence most strongly in favor of the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, that conclusion is adverse to that party.
Temple v. Wean United, Inc.
,
{¶ 8} To obtain relief in a negligence action, the plaintiff "must establish the existence of a duty, a breach of that duty, and an injury proximately resulting from the breach of duty."
Mondi v. Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Inc.
, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25059,
{¶ 9} "Open and obvious dangers are not hidden, are not concealed from view, and are discoverable upon ordinary inspection."
Zambo v. Tom-Car Foods
, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 09CA009619,
{¶ 10} In their motion for summary judgment, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn argued that Ms. Matus' claim failed as a matter of law because she had already traversed the step at issue or, in the alternative, because the step constituted an open and obvious condition. In support of their claims, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn heavily relied on statements Ms. Matus made during her deposition. However, a review of the record shows that Ms. Matus' deposition was never filed in this case nor was it attached as an exhibit to either of the parties' motions below. Further, neither party has attempted to supplement the record on appeal to include Ms. Matus' deposition. Consequently, although the record does contain photographs of the step at issue and the deposition testimony of a woman familiar with the step, it is devoid of any deposition testimony from Ms. Matus regarding her ability to appreciate the danger of the step at the time of the incident. As stated above, the existence of attendant circumstances, or lack thereof, is considered as part of the totality of the circumstances in determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding whether a reasonable person would have discovered the danger of the step.
See
Gardner
at ¶ 11. Consequently, upon review of the record in its current status, we cannot conclude that The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn have carried their initial
Dresher
burden to establish the applicability of the open and obvious doctrine.
See
Parker v. Red Roof Inn
, 9th Dist. Summit No. 27894,
{¶ 11} The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn alternatively argued that since Ms. Matus has previously traversed the step at issue, her claim failed as a matter of law pursuant to
Raflo v. Losantiville Country Club
,
{¶ 12} Therefore, because The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn did not meet their initial Dresher burden to establish that no genuine issues of material fact existed, The Jacts Group and Golden Dawn are not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and the trial court erred in granting their motion for summary judgment.
{¶ 13} Ms. Matus' first assignment of error is sustained.
Assignment of Error II
The lower court erred when it denied the appellant's motion for an order that requests for admissions 1 through 6 to the appellees are admitted.
Assignment of Error III
The lower court erred when it denied the appellant's motion for leave of court to file an amended complaint.
{¶ 14} In her second assignment of error, Ms. Matus contends that the trial court erred when it denied her motion for an order to deem Ms. Matus' requests for admission one through six as admitted. In her third assignment of error, Ms. Matus contends that the trial court erred by not granting her leave to file an amended complaint. Nonetheless, a review of the record shows that the trial court never expressly ruled on either motion. "Generally, when a trial court fails to rule on a motion, as is the case here, the motion will be considered denied for purposes of appellate review."
Canfield v. Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC
, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 15CA010838,
III.
{¶ 15} Ms. Matus' first assignment of error is sustained. Ms. Matus' second and third assignments of error are not yet ripe for review. The judgment of the Medina County Court of Common Please is reversed, and the cause is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the foregoing opinion.
Judgement reversed, and remanded.
TEODOSIO, J.
CALLAHAN, J.
CONCUR.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Marlene C. MATUS, Appellant v. the JACTS GROUP, LLC, Et Al., Appellee
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- summary judgment, Civ.R. 56, negligence, slip and fall, open and obvious doctrine, attendant circumstances, issue of fact