Opinion ID: 477989
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: a & p's liability

Text: 6 Louisiana law authorizes an action for negligence, placing on the plaintiff the burden of proving a fault by the defendant that caused injury. Eschete v. City of New Orleans, 258 La. 133, 245 So.2d 383 (1971). In slip and fall cases, the Louisiana courts have held that the plaintiff can satisfy his burden on fault by proving that there was a foreign substance on the floor; the burden then shifts to the store owner to prove that it fulfilled its duty to provide customers a safe place to shop. Kavlich v. Kramer, 315 So.2d 282, 284-85 (La.1975); Gonzales v. Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Inc., 326 So.2d 486 (La.1976). The store owner can meet this burden by proving that he took reasonable efforts to inspect his floors, clean up foreign substances, and, if appropriate, warn customers. Johnson v. Tayco Foods, 475 So.2d 65, 68 (La.App.2d Cir.), writ denied, 478 So.2d 149 (La.1985); Wilson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 448 So.2d 829, 831 (La.App.2d Cir.1984); Albritton v. J.C. Penney Co., Inc., 385 So.2d 549, 551 (La.App.3d Cir.), writ denied, 393 So.2d 727 (La.1980). 7 In this case, the store owner contends that Mrs. Zeno did not meet her burden of proving that there was a foreign substance on the floor at the point where she fell. Mrs. Zeno, her husband, and the store manager testified that they did not notice any water at that point. However, there was testimony that customers had been entering through the large puddle at the door for several hours, and the jury could have inferred that these customers tracked water to the spot. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Zeno testified that, just after the fall, they noticed a large spot on her coat that had not been there before. Store employees stated that they used a water-soluble floor wax, and the jury could have concluded that this wax, softened by rainwater, became slippery, causing the fall and the spot on Mrs. Zeno's coat. Finally, the jury could have given credence to the form filled out by the store manager immediately after the accident, acknowledging water on the floor. 8 The store does not claim to have met its burden of proving reasonable care; it does argue that the jury should have assigned more than twelve percent of the fault to Mrs. Zeno. However, nothing in the record indicates that this percentage is incorrect. A customer must take care to avoid obvious store hazards, but need not look at the floor before each step. Peralta v. Schwegmann Bros. Gt. Supermkts, Inc., 406 So.2d 720, 722 (La.App. 4th Cir.1981), writ denied, 410 So.2d 762 (La.1982). Indeed, stores encourage customers to look at eye-catching displays. Kavlich v. Kramer, supra at 284. 9 The jury's finding that a foreign substance on the floor was eighty-eight percent responsible for Mrs. Zeno's injuries binds this Court as long as there is a rational basis in the record for the jury's verdict. Reyes v. Wyeth Laboratories, 498 F.2d 1264, 1288 (5th Cir.1974); Porter v. American Optical Corp., 641 F.2d 1128, 1137 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1109, 102 S.Ct. 686, 70 L.Ed.2d 650 (1981). The jury in this case has fulfilled its function as trier of fact to weigh conflicting evidence and inferences and determine the credibility of witnesses. Boeing Company v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365, 375 (5th Cir.1969) (en banc). The verdict is supported by substantial evidence and reasonable inferences, id. at 374, and we decline to overturn it.