Court Opinion

ID: 9748717
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:11:07.871139+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:38.781846
License: Public Domain

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice,
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because Smith did not present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the liquid was on the floor for a length of time that Wal-Mart, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known of its existence and remedied the condition.
The circuit court should have directed a verdict in favor of Wal-Mart. It is well settled that shopkeepers owe a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. See Otto v. Phillips, Ky., 299 S.W.2d 100 (1956). The store owner is not an insurer of the safety of the customer and is not absolutely liable for injuries to invitees to the premises. See Jones v. Jarvis, Ky., 437 S.W.2d 189 (1969). Nelson v. Midwest Mortgage Co., Ky., 426 S.W.2d 149 (1968), establishes the rule of law in Kentucky in regard to situations where a customer falls because of a spill. See also Cumberland College v. Gaines, Ky., 432 S.W.2d 650 (1968). The only evidence presented by Smith regarding the physical characteristics of the spill to show the length of time the substance had been on the floor was the fact that it was melted. That simple fact is not sufficient for the jury to reach a reasonable inference that the substance has been present for the time necessary to have been discover*833ed. and removed by the owner. The fact that the substance was allegedly melted provides no information as to how long it had been on the floor.
The standard of review is correctly cited by the majority as Lewis v. Bledsoe Surface Mining Co., Ky., 798 S.W.2d 459 (1990), but the conclusion reached by the majority is incorrect. There were no witnesses to the slip and fall, but two employees did discover the customer lying on the floor. She was taken to a local hospital for emergency treatment, but not x-rayed because it was discovered that she was pregnant. The accident occurred on August 24, 1993. On March 3, 1994, approximately two weeks following the birth of her second child, Smith sought medical treatment for a back condition. On August 18, 1994, she filed suit alleging negligence in maintaining an unsafe premises as the cause of her fall and resulting back injury.
The simple question presented in this case is whether the owner violated its duty of ordinary care in not discovering the condition of the floor in time to prevent the fall. In my view, the decision of the Court of Appeals was consistent with the standard of appellate review of directed verdicts as addressed in cases such as Lewis v. Bledsoe Surface Mining Co., supra.
The Court of Appeals was correct in holding that the owner should have received a directed verdict because even if the jury chose to believe every part of the testimony presented by Smith, and disbelieves every part of the testimony presented by the owner, there still would have been a failure to produce any evidence on which the jury could have based a reasonable inference that the substance had been present on the floor for a sufficient time to have been discovered. There was no evidence that the employees of the store either spilled the substance or knew of the spill. Employees testified that they had been in the area within five to ten minutes before the accident and had seen no spill on the floor.
A directed verdict should have been rendered for the store owner which would, as observed by the Court of Appeals, have made moot the question of jury instructions and the admissibility of any evidence. However, in reviewing the evidence that was presented, there is no proof to contravene the position of the owner that none of its employees were aware of the substance that was on the floor when the fall occurred. Consequently, the finding by the jury that the store owner was negligent in this regard was against the weight of the evidence presented. There was no evidence to raise a prima facie case of negligence against the owner.
The Court of Appeals was correct in holding that the owner should have received a directed verdict under well-settled Kentucky law.