Opinion ID: 687330
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 On May 16, 1991, Derby went to the Godfather's Pizza Restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with her family to celebrate her daughter's birthday. At this time, Derby was sixty-eight years old. 3 Godfather's is a self-service restaurant that features an all-you-can-eat buffet for its noon lunch crowd. The buffet area is set apart from the two dining areas of the restaurant by one or two steps. On a return trip to the buffet, Derby slipped on the lower step, fell onto the tile floor in front of the buffet, and fractured her hip and shoulder. Derby's injuries required extensive medical treatment. 4 Derby filed suit against Godfather's in district court based upon diversity jurisdiction, alleging negligence. In a scheduling order, the district court set July 1, 1993, as the deadline for completion of discovery. On December 30, 1993, two weeks prior to trial, Godfather's received a letter from Derby advising that she intended to call an architect as an expert witness. The district court excluded the testimony of this expert, finding Godfather's would be prejudiced due to Derby's failure to comply with the discovery deadline. The action was tried before a jury which returned a general verdict for Godfather's and judgment was entered in favor of Godfather's on January 18, 1994. 5 Derby appeals, alleging the district court erred by refusing to give jury instructions eliminating the notice requirement for dangerous conditions and erred by excluding an architect's expert testimony.