Gutterman v. Target Corp.

242 F. Supp. 3d 695, 2017 WL 1036577, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38331
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 17, 2017
Docket15 C 5714
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 242 F. Supp. 3d 695 (Gutterman v. Target Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gutterman v. Target Corp., 242 F. Supp. 3d 695, 2017 WL 1036577, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38331 (N.D. Ill. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

John Z. Lee, United States District Judge

This case arises from injuries that Madison Gutterman (“Madison”) suffered while riding a skateboard within a Target store in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Hér parents, Donald and Jodi Gutterman (“Plaintiffs”), brought suit on her behalf against Target and Bravo Sports (“Bravo”), which manufactured and distributed the skateboard at issue. Target and Bravo, have separately moved for summary judgment. For. the reasons that follow, both motions [61] [73] are granted.

Background1

On May 26, 2018, Donald, Jodi, and Madison visited Target’s store in Vernon Hills. Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶10, ECF No. 62. Madison, age eleven, was one month away from her twelfth birthday. Id. ¶ 14. While they were shopping, Madison asked Donald and Jodi if she could go off by herself to a different section of the store, and Donald and Jodi'.agreed., Id. ¶¶ 15-16.

Madison went to a section of the store where skateboards were on. display. Id. ¶ 24. She took a skateboard off the shelf, placed it on the floor, and rode it down an aisle. Id. ¶ 27. The aisle was clean, clear, and dry, and there were no obstructions on the floor. Id. ¶ 29. Despite this, the parties agree that the floor was hard, slick, and unfit for skateboarding. See Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. (Target) ¶76,~ECF No. 89. After riding the skateboard for a short period of time, Madison fell off and sustained injuries that spurred the action be[699]*699fore this Court. Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 21-22.

The skateboard at issue was manufactured and distributed to Target by Bravo. Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. (Target) ¶ 72. Bravo placed “deterrent devices” on all skateboards it distributed to Target, including those that arrived at the Vernon Hills store prior to May 26, 2013. Id. ¶¶ 73, 75. “Truck boxes” are the only deterrent device Bravo used with the type of skateboard at issue. Id. ¶ 75. A truck box is “a cardboard box that covers the rear axle and wheels of the skateboard.” Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 39. The box is affixed to the skateboard with hot glue or packaging tape. Id. ¶ 41. It can be removed quickly and easily by simply pulling it off. Id. ¶ 42. The purpose of the box is twofold: to protect the skateboard from damage pre-sale, and to protect customers by deterring them from riding skateboards in stores. See id. ¶ 40. Here, however, the parties agree that no truck box was affixed to the skateboard at issue when Madison rode it and that’the truck box thus must have been removed at some point prior. Id. ¶ 55; Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. (Bravo), ¶ 57, ECF Nó. 91*.2

Additionally, at the time Madison rode the skateboard, its surface was covered in plainly visible plastic shrink wrap meant to protect the board’s surface during manufacturing and distribution. Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶43, 45; id., Ex. G, ECF No. 62-8. The plastic wrap covers “grip tape” that provides traction on the board’s surface; thus, the board is unsuitable for riding before the wrap is removed. Id. ¶ 45. The parties agree that the fact that the board’s surface remained wrapped contributed to Madison’s fall. Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. (Target) ¶76. Bravo placed a warning sticker on top of the plastic wrap that reads as follows: “WARNING! Reduce the'risk of serious injury and only use this skateboard while wearing full' protective gear — Helmet, Knee Pads, Elbow Pads, Wrist Guards, and Flat Soled Shoes[.] Max Rider Weight 110 lbs[J” Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 46-47, 49.3 Madison wore flip flops, and [700]*700no other protective gear, while riding the board. See id. ¶¶ 13, 28. The parties dispute whether wearing flip flops contributed to Madison’s injury and what impact wearing protective gear would have had. Target’s Resp. Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. ¶ 76, ECF No. 96.

Madison had experience riding skateboards; “she knew how to ride the skateboard she took off the shelf in the store that day, and there was nothing new, different, or unusual about this skateboard as compared to other skateboards she had previously ridden.” Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 30. At a more basic level, she knew “that a skateboard has wheels, that it rolls on those wheels, that she could fall off of it, and that if she were to fall off of it, she could get hurt.” Id. ¶ 33. Moreover, while the parties dispute the precise guidance Donald and Jodi had given her about using skateboards in a store, riding with flip flops, and riding without protective gear, there is no dispute that they generally advised her against these activities. Target’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 17-18; id., Ex. B, at 38:20-40:1, ECF No. 62-3; id., Ex. C, at 20:17-21:7, 25:2-14, ECF No. 62-4; Bravo’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 13-15, ECF No. 75; Target’s Resp. Pis.’ LR 56.1(b)(3)(C) Stmt. ¶ 110.

Legal Standard

“The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Shell v. Smith, 789 F.3d 715, 717 (7th Cir. 2015). To survive summary judgment, the nonmoving party must “do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), and instead must “establish some genuine issue for trial such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in' her favor.” Gordon v. FedEx Freight, Inc., 674 F.3d 769, 772-73 (7th Cir. 2012). In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, courts “must construe all facts and reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.” Dorsey, 507 F.3d at 627. But “[inferences that are supported by only speculation or conjecture will not defeat a summary judgment motion.” Id. (quoting McDonald v. Vill. of Winnetka, 371 F.3d 992, 1001 (7th Cir. 2004)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Analysis

I. Claims Against Target

Plaintiffs first seek to recover against Target on theories of common law negligence and violation of the Illinois Premises Liability Act. Target has moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the skateboard by which Madison suffered her injuries was an open and obvious danger, and that Target owed Madison no duty of care.

In this diversity action, the Court applies Illinois law. Lane v. Hardee’s Food Sys., Inc., 184 F.3d 705, 707 (7th Cir. 1999). To succeed in a claim of negligence, “the plaintiff must plead and prove the existence of a duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, a breach of that duty, and injury proximately resulting from the breach.” Bruns v. City of Centralia, 386 Ill.Dec. 765, 21 N.E.3d 684, 688-89 (2014). The existence of a duty is a question of law.

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Bluebook (online)
242 F. Supp. 3d 695, 2017 WL 1036577, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gutterman-v-target-corp-ilnd-2017.