Court Opinion

ID: 9404001
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-22 00:00:39.689885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:11.182810
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30790         Document: 00516794806             Page: 1      Date Filed: 06/21/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit

                                       No. 22-30790                                    FILED
                                     Summary Calendar                              June 21, 2023
                                     ____________                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                       Clerk
   Mark Joseph Matarrese,

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                             versus

   Zurich American Insurance Company; Louisiana -1
   Gaming, A Louisiana Partnership in Commendam,

                                               Defendants—Appellees.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Eastern District of Louisiana
                                USDC No. 2:21-CV-1651
                      ______________________________

   Before Davis, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Plaintiff, Mark Joseph Matarrese, slipped and fell in a puddle of water
   as he was walking into the Boomtown Casino New Orleans. After de novo
   review, we agree with the district court that the allegedly hazardous condition
   (whether it was the puddle of water or algae contained therein) was open and

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30790           Document: 00516794806           Page: 2       Date Filed: 06/21/2023

                                         No. 22-30790

   obvious. 1 Plaintiff agreed in his deposition that on the night in question the
   area was “pretty well lit.” The photographs of the puddle establish that the
   puddle was large and clearly visible. Furthermore, it was located at the base
   of the vehicular ramp leading to the porte cochere (i.e., the overhang under
   which vehicles drive for unloading) of the Boomtown Casino New Orleans.
   Under these circumstances, we conclude that “no reasonable juror could find
   that Defendants breached the duty owed to Plaintiff[].” 2
           AFFIRMED.

           _____________________
           1
             See Farrell v. Circle K Stores, Inc., 359 So. 3d 467, 474 (La. 2023) (holding that
   courts should apply the risk/utility balancing test to make the determination whether a
   property owner breached a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition and
   clarifying that “[t]he likelihood and magnitude of the harm, includes a consideration of the
   open and obviousness of the condition.”).
           2
               Id. at 479.

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