Dean v. First National Bank of Great Falls

452 P.2d 402, 152 Mont. 474, 1969 Mont. LEXIS 491
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 24, 1969
Docket11534
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 452 P.2d 402 (Dean v. First National Bank of Great Falls) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dean v. First National Bank of Great Falls, 452 P.2d 402, 152 Mont. 474, 1969 Mont. LEXIS 491 (Mo. 1969).

Opinions

MR. JUSTICE BONNER

delivered' the Opinion of the Court.

This is a personal; injury action filed by plaintiff, Lila N. .Dean, seeking damages as a result of tripping and falling on a carpet and allegedly sustaining serious injuries. Plaintiff claims the fall was caused by the alleged negligence of the defendant, First National Bank of Great Falls, a corporation, the landlord of plaintiff’s employer, First Trust Company. Defendant moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the pleadings and depositions showed no genuine issue as to any material fact and the defendant was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This motion was granted by the district judge and judgment for defendant wa,s thereafter entered by the district court on July 26, 1968. From this judgment plaintiff appeals.

[476]*476As far as we are concerned here, the pertinent paragraph of plaintiff’s complaint alleges:

“That the carpet furnished by defendant to cover its floors as aforesaid was torn in the room where plaintiff had to work and was employed and in such a position that plaintiff was compelled to walk over the torn portion of the carpet daily in her work and employment with the First Trust Company and that although the defendant should have been aware of the tear in the carpet, which became worse over a period of time it failed and refused to repair the same with the result that plaintiff was caused to trip and fall on said tear, as a result of which she sustained serious injuries as hereinafter set forth.”

The answer of defendant sets up two affirmative defenses; assumption of risk and contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff.

The plaintiff at the time of the accident was 36 years of age and the mother of two minor children.

The pertinent contents of the order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant sets forth generally the facts of this case:

“The above entitled cause having come before the Court on defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, and the Court having considered the pleadings on file herein, the deposition of Charles Klaue, Assistant Vice-President of the First National Bank of Great Falls, the deposition of Lila Dean, and the Defendant’s Answer to Plaintiff’s Interrogatories, and the Court having read and considered the Briefs filed by counsel for the parties hereto, it appears to the Court from the undisputed facts and from the plaintiff’s contentions, construed most favorably to her case, that:
“ (1) The First National Bank of Great Falls is a national banking association which owns an office building known as the First National Bank Building, in Great Falls (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Bank’).
[477]*477“ (2) The First Trust Company of Montana is a corporation (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Trust Company’).
“(3) At all times referred to in the Complaint the Bank leased certain office space on the fifth floor of its building to the Trust Company and the relationship of the Bank to the Trust Company was that of landlord and tenant.
“(4) The floors of the office space leased to the Trust Company were covered with carpet which had been installed by and which was, at all times relevant herein, owned by the Bank. The Bank, through its custodial employees, provided janitorial and cleaning service to the Trust Company offices, and at all times relevant herein, the Bank purported to maintain the carpets in the Trust Company offices.
■ “ (5) Lila Dean was an employee of the Trust Company for an approximate ten-month period ending in July, 1966.
“(6) Between the desk where Lila Dean worked and a filing cabinet which Mrs. Dean frequently used, was a seam in the carpet which over a period of time buckled and then separated. Lila Dean contends that this defect appeared shortly after she commenced her employment with First Trust Company, and that it continued to grow in size until the bulge and separation were approximately three feet long. The Defendant admits the existence of the defect in the rug and its location but does not fully agree with all of the contentions of Lila Dean concerning the nature of the defect. However, for purposes of determining this Motion, it is assumed that Lila Dean’s contentions are true.
“(7) Lila Dean contends that she frequently hooked the heel of her shoe upon the defect in the carpet during the course of her employment. She states that this oecured on the average of at least once a day during her employment and sometimes as often as three or four times a day. On one occasion in May of 1966, Mrs. Dean states .that she caught her heel on the defect in the carpet and pitched forward to her knees, causing a sharp spasm of pain across her low back [478]*478which extended to her right leg. She contends that this incident precipitated serious low back injuries which have required extensive surgical and medical attention. She also contends that the repeated tripping incidents prior to her fall in May of 1966 aggravated a pre-existing condition of generalized low back pain. The Defendant disputes the foregoing contentions of Lila Dean, but for purposes of this Motion, Lila Dean’s contentions are deemed to be true as stated.
"It appears to the Court from the foregoing, that:
" (a) Lila Dean had actual knowledge of the defect in the carpet at all times pertinent hereto.
"(b) Lila Dean appreciated the condition of the carpet as dangerous.
" (e) Lila Dean voluntarily remained in the presence of the defect in the carpet for a period of' several months.
" (d) Lila Dean’s injuries allegedly resulted from the very defect which she knew, appreciated and alleges to be dangerous.
"The Court concludes that Lila Dean assumed the risk of her injuries as a matter of law and that she is barred from recovery herein by her assumption of the risk. The Court recognizes that there may be an issue of fact with respect to negligence on the part of the defendant, but rules that the issue of the Defendant’s negligence is not a material issue of fact, because the Plaintiff is barred from recovery in any event. It appears therefore that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that Defendant, is entitléd to judgment as a matter of law.
"The Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby granted.”

It is evident that the order granting summary judgment is founded solely on the defense that plaintiff assumed the risk and defendant’s negligence was not á material issue of fact because plaintiff was barred from recovery in any event.

Two issues present themselves on this appeal, viz:

[479]*479(1) Did the district court err iu concluding that the plaintiff assumed the risk of her injuries as a matter of law and she is barred from recovery by her assumption of the risk?

(2) Did the district court err in concluding that the issue of defendant’s negligence is not a material issue of fact, because the plaintiff is barred from recovery in any event?

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Dean v. First National Bank of Great Falls
452 P.2d 402 (Montana Supreme Court, 1969)

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Bluebook (online)
452 P.2d 402, 152 Mont. 474, 1969 Mont. LEXIS 491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dean-v-first-national-bank-of-great-falls-mont-1969.