Court Opinion

ID: 988427
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-03 22:52:08.593281+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:10:05.184535
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

KENNETH W. BRANCH,
Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.                                                                   No. 94-2401

BUSCH ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION,
Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Newport News.
Richard B. Kellam, Senior District Judge.
(CA-94-18)

Argued: September 28, 1995

Decided: January 30, 1996

Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and HAMILTON, Circuit
Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

ARGUED: Robert T. Hall, HALL, MARKLE, SICKELS &
FUDALA, P.C., Fairfax, Virginia, for Appellant. Michael Lowell
Heikes, MCGUIRE, WOODS, BATTLE & BOOTHE, L.L.P., Nor-
folk, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Holly Parkhurst Lear,
HALL, MARKLE, SICKELS & FUDALA, P.C., Fairfax, Virginia;
John Ward Bane, Hampton, Virginia, for Appellant. Lisa A. Bertini,
Robert W. McFarland, MCGUIRE, WOODS, BATTLE & BOOTHE,
L.L.P., Norfolk, Virginia; Charles G. Meyer, III, MCGUIRE,
WOODS, BATTLE & BOOTHE, L.L.P., Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

During a visit to Busch Gardens amusement park in Williamsburg,
Virginia in August 1989, Kenneth W. Branch slipped and fell as he
stepped onto a wooden platform at the entrance to a ride. He injured
his left knee. The platform was constructed of salt-treated timbers and
was wet from rain. There is no dispute that the platform was in good
repair and that it sloped away from Branch as he stepped onto it at
a rate of 1/8 of an inch per foot. Branch stated that he had noticed
"beads of water" on the platform before stepping onto it and that in
his judgment, it was the "combination of [his] shoes on [the] wet
deck" that caused his fall. He was wearing leather-soled sandals.

Busch Entertainment Corporation ("Busch"), the owner and opera-
tor of Busch Gardens, had never before received complaints about the
platform, even though more than 18 million persons had walked over
it during the 11 years it had been in place. Moreover, no other visitors
had trouble walking on the platform at the time Branch fell.

Branch sued Busch in state court, and Busch removed the case to
the district court, relying on diversity jurisdiction. The district court
submitted the case to the jury which returned a verdict in favor of
Branch, awarding him $76,000 in damages. On Busch's motion for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the district court vacated the
judgment and entered judgment for Busch as a matter of law, con-
cluding that Branch had failed to present any evidence of negligence.
The court stated:

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          At this point, where is any negligence on the part of defen-
          dant? It was not an insurer. . . . There was no reason to warn
          plaintiff he might slip, for defendant had no reason to
          believe plaintiff or anyone was in danger of slipping. It was
          not on notice that anyone had, during the eleven years it had
          been in operation, slipped on the decking, although more
          than 18 million invitees had crossed over this deck. Without
          knowledge that one had slipped or was likely to slip, it had
          no knowledge of a slippery or dangerous condition. If it be
          suggested that common knowledge would alert defendant to
          the fact that timbers are slippery when wet, then plaintiff
          was privy to that common knowledge.

On appeal, Branch contends that the district court erred in vacating
the jury's verdict because "there was sufficient evidence of the defen-
dant's negligence to support the jury verdict against the defendant."

We have carefully reviewed the record and considered counsel's
arguments, presented both in their briefs and during oral argument,
and for the reasons given by the district court in its thorough and
well-reasoned opinion, Branch v. Busch Entertainment Corp., Civil
Action No. 49-18 (E.D.Va. Sept. 30, 1994), we affirm.

AFFIRMED

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