Court Opinion

ID: 9867402
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-26 16:01:09.267839+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:42:01.109973
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-13912    Document: 40-1      Date Filed: 09/26/2023    Page: 1 of 9

                                                    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                  In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 22-13912
                          Non-Argument Calendar
                          ____________________

       JEAN ANGLIN,
                                                       Plaintiﬀ-Appellant,
       GENE ANGLIN,
                                            Intervenor Plaintiﬀ-Appellant,
       versus
       BI LO, LLC,
       d.b.a. Winn Dixie Store Number 19,

                                  Defendant-Cross Claimant-Appellee,
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       2                          Opinion of the Court                       22-13912

       ASSA ABLOY ENTRANCE SYSTEMS US INC.,
       STANLEY ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC,

                                      Defendants-Cross Defendants-Appellees.

                               ____________________

                   Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Southern District of Georgia
                    D.C. Docket No. 2:21-cv-00014-LGW-BWC
                             ____________________

       Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
             Plaintiff-Appellant Jean Anglin fell after automatic sliding
       doors at the Winn Dixie store on St. Simons Island, Georgia, closed
       on her. Jean Anglin—joined by her husband Gene Anglin—
       brought various tort claims against three different parties: BI LO,
       LLC (BI-LO); Assa Abloy Entrance Systems US Inc. (Assa Abloy);
       and Stanley Access Technologies, LLC (Stanley) (collectively “the
       defendants”).1 The district court entered summary judgment in fa-
       vor of each defendant. The Anglins argue that the district court

       1 Since the plaintiffs in this case share a last name, this opinion uses the full
       name of each person to distinguish each plaintiff from the other.
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       22-13912               Opinion of the Court                         3

       improperly granted summary judgment based on unverified inter-
       rogatories. After a careful review of the record, we AFFIRM.
                              I.      Background
               We assume the parties are familiar with the facts and so
       briefly summarize those elements of this case. On June 24, 2020,
       Jean Anglin visited a Winn Dixie store on St. Simons Island, Geor-
       gia. Jean Anglin purchased her food, unloaded the groceries in her
       vehicle, and walked back into the store to return her cart. As she
       exited through the entryway, the automatic sliding doors began to
       shut. The doors struck Jean Anglin on her right hip and lower back,
       causing her to fall to the ground. This fall caused severe fractures
       to her left ankle. Jean Anglin went to the hospital and underwent
       multiple surgeries on her ankle. Following those operations, Jean
       Anglin spent several months in recovery at a hospital and inpatient
       facility center.
              The Anglins sued the defendants alleging various tort
       claims. First, Jean Anglin brought failure-to-warn and negligence
       claims against BI-LO. Next, Jean Anglin brought a strict liability
       claim and a claim alleging negligent installation, repair, and mainte-
       nance against Assa Abloy. Then, Jean Anglin brought a negligence
       claim against Stanley. Finally, Gene Anglin brought a loss of con-
       sortium claim, which is a derivative claim in Georgia. After discov-
       ery, each defendant moved for summary judgment.
             The district court concluded that although a genuine issue
       of material fact existed as to whether BI-LO operates the relevant
       Winn Dixie store, BI-LO was entitled to summary judgment on
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       4                      Opinion of the Court                22-13912

       Jean Anglin’s negligence and failure-to-warn claims. No evidence
       indicated the doors closed on anyone before this incident. Further,
       BI-LO conducted daily safety checks and performed maintenance
       around five months prior to the incident. Also, the Winn Dixie
       store placed manufacturer-required warning stickers on both sides
       of the doors. Jean Anglin did not present any evidence of 1) a defect
       or malfunction in the door, or 2) BI-LO’s actual or constructive
       knowledge of any issue with the doors.
               The district court granted summary judgment in favor of
       door manufacturer Assa Abloy on both the strict liability and neg-
       ligence claims. First, Jean Anglin’s strict liability claim was time
       barred. Georgia has a ten-year statute of repose for strict liability
       claims brought against product manufacturers. Undisputed evi-
       dence indicated the doors were installed twelve years before the
       incident. Regarding the negligence claims, evidence showed that
       Assa Abloy did not help install the doors. Further, Assa Abloy’s
       final recorded service of the doors preceded the incident by over a
       year, and two other companies provided maintenance services dur-
       ing that intervening time.
              The district court granted summary judgment in favor of
       maintenance provider Stanley on Jean Anglin’s negligence claims.
       The district court found nothing in the record to support a causal
       link between Stanley’s work and the doors closing.
             Because Jean Anglin’s claims failed, the district court found
       that Gene Anglin’s derivative claim failed. The Anglins timely ap-
       pealed.
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       22-13912                Opinion of the Court                        5

             II.       Standard of Review and Applicable Law
              This court reviews grants of summary judgment de novo.
       King v. King, 69 F.4th 738, 742 (11th Cir. 2023) (per curiam). “On
       summary judgment review, we view all evidence in ‘the light most
       favorable to the nonmoving party’ and draw ‘all justifiable infer-
       ences in that party’s favor.’” Id. (quoting Brown v. Nexus Bus. Sols.,
       LLC, 29 F.4th 1315, 1317–18 (11th Cir. 2022)). If, after conducting
       this review, the movant has shown “that there is no genuine dis-
       pute as to any material fact,” then “the movant is entitled to judg-
       ment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
              Because this tort case originated in Georgia and comes to
       this court by way of diversity jurisdiction, see 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a),
       we are required to apply the substantive law of Georgia. See Sutton
       v. Wal-Mart Stores E., LP, 64 F.4th 1166, 1168 (11th Cir. 2023).
                      III.        Arguments on Appeal
               As an initial matter, Jean Anglin has abandoned her chal-
       lenge to the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of
       Stanley. An appellant who does not “challenge properly on appeal
       one of the grounds on which the district court based its judgment”
       abandons any challenges on that ground. Sapuppo v. Allstate Florid-
       ians Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir. 2014). Abandonment oc-
       curs when an appellant “makes only passing references” or fails to
       use “supporting arguments and authority” on an issue. Id. at 681.
       The Anglins make no argument in their initial brief on how the
       district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of
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       6                         Opinion of the Court                       22-13912

       Stanley. Instead, the Anglins only mention Stanley in their facts
       section. Thus, the Anglins abandoned their claim against Stanley
       on appeal.
               The Anglins raise two arguments on appeal. First, the An-
       glins argue that the district court improperly shifted the burden of
       proof to the plaintiffs before the defendants showed they were en-
       titled to summary judgment. The party that moves for summary
       judgment bears the initial burden of establishing that there is no
       genuine issue of material fact. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477
       U.S. 242, 256 (1986). Once the movant meets that burden, the bur-
       den shifts to the nonmovant who must “present affirmative evi-
       dence” of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 257. The record
       indicates that the district court properly shifted the burden to the
       Anglins after the defendants showed there were no genuine issues
       of material fact.
               Next, the Anglins argue that the district court improperly re-
       lied on unverified interrogatory responses when deciding to grant
       summary judgment in favor of BI-LO and Assa Abloy. The An-
       glins’ brief does not identify which unverified interrogatories the
       district court relied on or how they were used relative to each de-
       fendant.2 Below, we discuss each defendant in turn.

       2 The Anglins filed a reply brief on June 22, 2023. The Clerk’s office issued a
       notice saying the brief was untimely and deficient because it lacked both a Ta-
       ble of Contents and Table of Citations. The Anglins did not refile that brief or
       seek leave to file the brief out of time. We did not consider that brief when
       reviewing this appeal.
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       22-13912               Opinion of the Court                          7

               First, the Anglins argue that the district court relied on un-
       verified interrogatories submitted by BI-LO to support its motion
       for summary judgment. The district court addressed these con-
       cerns by explaining that “interrogatory answers” are a type of ma-
       terial parties can use to support motions for summary judgment.
       Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). We have explained that “evidence does not
       have to be authenticated or otherwise presented in an admissible
       form to be considered at the summary judgment stage, ‘as long as
       the evidence could ultimately be presented in an admissible form.’”
       Smith v. Marcus & Millichap, Inc., 991 F.3d 1145, 1156 n.2 (11th Cir.
       2021) (quoting Lossia v. Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., 895 F.3d 423, 429 (6th
       Cir. 2018)). Here, the district court can and properly did consider
       interrogatory responses.
               Even though BI-LO could use these interrogatories, BI-LO
       explained how it only used two of its own interrogatory answers in
       its statement of material facts. First, it referenced interrogatories
       to determine who operated the Winn Dixie where Jean Anglin was
       hit. Since the district court did not grant BI-LO summary judgment
       on those grounds, that reference is irrelevant on appeal. Second,
       BI-LO referenced its interrogatories to show an absence of com-
       plaints about automatic doors at the Winn Dixie. Several other
       materials supported the absence of complaints.
              By merely mentioning “unverified interrogatories,” the An-
       glins did not provide affirmative evidence related to either the fail-
       ure-to-warn or negligence claims against BI-LO. Ultimately, noth-
       ing in the Anglins’ brief showed a genuine dispute of material fact
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       8                          Opinion of the Court                       22-13912

       regarding the claims brought against BI-LO. The district court
       properly granted summary judgment.
                Second, the Anglins’ brief mentions that the district court
       granted summary judgment to Assa Abloy on both the strict liabil-
       ity and negligence claims. However, the Anglins only argue about
       strict liability. By making a “passing reference” rather than a sub-
       stantive argument about their negligence claims, the Anglins aban-
       doned their negligent installation, repair, and maintenance claims
       against Assa Abloy. See Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 682.
               As to the strict liability claim, the Anglins fail to demonstrate
       a genuine issue of material fact. The dispositive issue for the strict
       liability claim was whether the ten-year statute of repose had
       tolled. The district court relied on the deposition testimony of the
       Winn Dixie store manager to find that the automatic doors were
       installed in 2008. Georgia has a ten-year statute of repose for strict
       liability claims brought against product manufacturers. See
       O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11(b)(2). Since the door was installed twelve years
       before the date of the accident, the statute of repose had com-
       pletely tolled before this lawsuit commenced. The Anglins’ brief
       does not refute this claim with affirmative evidence. 3 As a result,
       the Anglins did not demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact on

       3 The Anglins’ brief makes a short reference to a “control unit” installed by a
       subsidiary of Assa Abloy in 2018. Since Jean Anglin had not mentioned this
       “control unit” earlier, the district court order does not reference it. Jean An-
       glin cannot now “argue a different case from the case she presented to the
       district court.” Irving v. Mazda Motor Corp., 136 F.3d 764, 769 (11th Cir. 1998).
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       22-13912                  Opinion of the Court                               9

       their remaining strict liability claim. The district court properly
       granted summary judgment for Assa Abloy.
              For the reasons discussed above, we affirm the district
       court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
              AFFIRMED.4

       4 Since we affirm the district court regarding all of Jean Anglin’s substantive
       claims, Gene Anglin’s derivative loss of consortium claim fails.