UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT 

 

RICHARD J. SHUST, 

 Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v. 

WAL-MART STORES, INC., 

 Defendant-Appellee. 

No. 11-5159 

(D.C. No. 4:10-CV-00569-GKF-FHM) 

(N.D. Okla.)

 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

 

Before MATHESON, Circuit Judge, PORFILIO, Senior Circuit Judge, and 

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge. 

 

 Richard J. Shust appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment 

to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on his claim for negligence. We have jurisdiction under 

28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm. 

 

*

 After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined 

unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this 

appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore 

ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding 

precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral 

estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with 

Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. 

FILED 

United States Court of Appeals 

Tenth Circuit 

August 22, 2012

Elisabeth A. Shumaker 

Clerk of Court
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I. Background 

 Mr. Shust sued Wal-Mart, alleging that immediately upon entering a Wal-Mart 

store on a dreary winter’s day, he slipped and fell on a wet floor and was injured as a 

result of Wal-Mart’s negligence. Wal-Mart moved for summary judgment, and 

Mr. Shust opposed the motion. Wal-Mart alleged that based on the facts asserted in 

Mr. Shust’s deposition, it was undisputed that he was aware that there was melting 

snow and slush outside the store on the day of the fall, that he walked through water 

outside before entering the store, that the water at the entrance to the store came from 

outside, and that he was able to see the water on the floor after he fell. Wal-Mart 

argued that it owed no duty to Mr. Shust because the danger was open and obvious, 

and that additional facts asserted by Mr. Shust in his response to its motion were 

irrelevant. The district court held that Mr. Shust knew or should have known that the 

floor at the entrance of the store could be wet and slippery, that it was an open and 

obvious danger, and that Wal-Mart owed no duty to him, so his negligence claim 

failed. See Phelps v. Hotel Mgmt., Inc., 925 P.2d 891, 893 (Okla. 1996). The court 

focused on the evidence from Mr. Shust’s deposition that if he had looked down 

before he fell, he would have seen the water on the floor. See Aplt. App. at 29, 

ll. 21-25. The court entered summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart, and Mr. Shust 

appeals. 

 
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II. Discussion 

 “We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, applying 

the same standard as the district court.” Helm v. Kansas, 656 F.3d 1277, 1284 

(10th Cir. 2011). “Summary judgment is appropriate ‘if the movant shows that there 

is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as 

a matter of law.’” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)). “We view the record on 

summary judgment in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Klen v. City 

of Loveland, Colo., 661 F.3d 498, 508 (10th Cir. 2011). But “although our review is 

de novo, we conduct that review from the perspective of the district court at the time 

it made its ruling, ordinarily limiting our review to the materials adequately brought 

to the attention of the district court by the parties.” Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 

144 F.3d 664, 671 (10th Cir. 1998). 

 Mr. Shust argues that the district court erred when it determined that the 

evidence showed that he acknowledged an open and obvious hazard at the Wal-Mart 

store. We have carefully reviewed the parties’ arguments and the record on appeal, 

and we do not find any error in the district court’s decision. Moreover, Mr. Shust’s 

additional argument that his attention was diverted from the hazard was not raised in 

his response to Wal-Mart’s summary judgment motion and so is outside our review. 

See id. 
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 The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 

 Entered for the Court 

 Bobby R. Baldock 

 Circuit Judge