___________ No. 96-1837

___________ Neil Ganoe; Juane Good, * husband and wife, * * Appellants, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the * District of Minnesota. Koch Refining Company, a * foreign corporation, * [UNPUBLISHED] * Appellee. *

___________ Submitted: January 15, 1997 Filed: January 30, 1997

___________ Before MAGILL, BEAM, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

___________ PER CURIAM.
Neil G anoe and Juane Good, husband and wife, appeal th e district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Koc h Refining Company (Koch) in this diversity slip-and-fall acti on. We reverse. Ganoe and his wife sought dama ges for injuries Ganoe suffered when he slipped and fell while he was a business invitee on Koch's premises. Following a hearing, the district court granted Koch's mot ionfor summary judgment, concluding that Ganoe had failed t o produce sufficient evidence to create a triable issue as to th e existence and nature of any defect causing Ganoe's fall. We review a grant of summary j udgment de novo, using the same standards as the district court and finding summary judgment-2-

appropriate only if, when viewing all the facts and reasonabl e inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there remains no genuine issue of material fact. Se e Scheerer v. Hardee's Food Sys., Inc. , 16 F.3d 272, 273 (8th Cir
. 1994). At the summary judgment stage, we may not weigh evid ence or make credibility determinations. See Grossman v. Dillard Dep' t Stores, Inc. , 47 F.3d 969, 971 (8th Cir. 1995).
Under Minnesota law, a busines s owner owes a business invitee the duty to keep and maintain premises in a reasonably saf e condition. See Wolvert v. Gustafson , 146 N.W.2d 172, 173 (Minn
. 1966). To recover in a slip-and-fall case, the plaintiff mus t establish that the business operator knew of the defect caus ing the injury o r that the defect had existed for a sufficient period o f time to charge the operator with constructive notice of it s presence. Id. ; see also Gearin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , 53 F.3d 216, 217-18 (8th Cir. 1995) (per curiam). The issue of causation is traditi onally an area reserved for the jury. See Black v
. Stumvoll , 374 N.W.2d 782, 784 (Minn. Ct. App. 1985). To counter Koch's motion for summary judgment, Ganoe offeredevidence that oil residue may have formed on the ground from toploa ding fuel racks; that--in the past--the design of the roo f canopy had caused water to drain, creating a mound of ice in th e area where drivers exited their vehicles; that he and other drivers complained to Koch about the mounds of ice; that it was drizzling and ra ining intermittently on the night of the accident, th e temperature was around freezin g, and the ground was wet; that when he pulled his truck around for loading, the area was slippery and he could see the reflection of ice; that his stepson saw pat ches of ice underneath the loading rack; and that Ganoe told his ste pson at the time of the accident he had slipped on ice.-3-

Viewing the evidence in the li ght most favorable to Ganoe, we conclude there exist genuine issues of material fact as to what-4-

caused Ganoe to slip and fall as well as whether Koch had kn owledge of any defect and opportunity to correct it. See Grossman , 47 F.3d at 971 (reversing grant of sum mary judgment to defendant; evidence plaintiff felt heel connect with rolling clothes rack as she fell and other witnesses saw rack in area sufficient to create factual dis pute as to causation); Scheerer , 16 F.3d at 274-75 (reversin g grant of summary judgment to defendant; plaintiff's depositio n testimony provided submissible case as to causation where pl aintiff did not know cause of fall, but testified she saw grease andoil in the area, and she recalled the pavement being "tacky" and havin g damp spots, and the lot was on a downward slope). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is reversed, and the case is remanded to the district court for furthe r proceedings.
A true copy.

Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.