Summary Judgment Win
Orlando Liability Attorney Hillary Hazeltine recently obtained an order granting her motion for summary judgment in a slip and fall case.
There, the plaintiff alleged that she was walking out of a lobby and tripped on a rug that was improperly placed on the floor, sustaining injuries.
During her deposition, the plaintiff testified that she did not see the rug prior to her fall. She could not describe how the rug was improperly laid out, could not recall if she saw the rug after her fall and could not provide a description of the rug, including its size or color. Further, she did not know if there was a lump or bump in the rug.
Video footage of the incident showed the rug lying flat on the floor in the minute prior to the plaintiff’s fall. The video also showed a non-party walk over the subject area without incident immediately before the plaintiff and the rug did not move. In response to the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff filed the affidavit of her husband in which he alleged that rug was improperly laid and that he almost fell over the rug.
The Court concluded that the plaintiff was unable to establish any facts which demonstrated a defective condition in the rug. As for the information provided by the affidavit, the Court found it was equally likely that the condition occurred as a result of the plaintiff’s fall as opposed to occurring as a result of a defective condition in the rug.
Plaintiff filed a motion for rehearing which forwarded several arguments including insufficient statement of reasoning from the Court and res ipsa loquitor. The Court denied the motion for rehearing.
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