Hardy v. K Mart Corp.

669 So. 2d 34, 1996 WL 63960
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 15, 1996
Docket92-CA-01162-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 669 So. 2d 34 (Hardy v. K Mart Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hardy v. K Mart Corp., 669 So. 2d 34, 1996 WL 63960 (Mich. 1996).

Opinion

669 So.2d 34 (1996)

Marion A. HARDY, a Minor, By and Through His Natural and Legal Guardians, Deborah Hardy and Larry Hardy, Sr.
v.
K MART CORPORATION.

No. 92-CA-01162-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

February 15, 1996.

*35 James K. Wetzel, Gulfport, for appellant.

*36 William L. McDonough, Jr., Bryant Clark Dukes Blakeslee Ramsay & Hammond, Gulfport, for appellee.

Before SULLIVAN, P.J., and McRAE and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., JJ.

SULLIVAN, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

Marion A. Hardy appeals from a summary judgment granted by the Harrison County Circuit Court in favor of K Mart Corporation (K Mart). On December 11, 1990, Hardy filed a premises liability lawsuit against K Mart to recover for injuries he allegedly sustained when he slipped and fell on some spilled paint in a Biloxi, Mississippi, K Mart store. The trial court granted the summary judgment after it determined that Hardy failed to show either that K Mart caused his injury through its own negligence or that K Mart had actual or constructive notice of the paint spill. Finding genuine issues of material fact as to K Mart's negligence, we reverse the summary judgment as to that matter; however, we affirm the trial court's finding of no actual or constructive notice of the spill.

On May 23, 1990, Marion Hardy (Marty) and his brother Larry Hardy (Larry) left work during their lunch hour to go to the Biloxi, Mississippi, K Mart to buy some paint. Marty was 19 years old at the time of the accident, and Larry is approximately the same age as Marty. After entering the store, the two proceeded down different aisles that were side-by-side to the paint section of the home improvements department. Larry was unable to see Marty as they walked down the different aisles. Marty arrived at the end of his aisle before Larry, and as Marty rounded that aisle he slipped in a puddle of spilled paint. When Marty stepped in the paint his feet slipped out from under him, and he landed on the other side of the puddle falling on his buttocks. The puddle, which Marty did not see before he stepped in it, was approximately three feet in diameter. Larry did not see Marty fall nor did he hear the sound of any paint cans crashing prior to the fall, but he did hear the sound of his brother hitting the floor and exclaiming "Ouch."

Larry rounded the corner in time to see Marty trying to stand and proceeded to help him stand. Marty had paint all over his tennis shoes and a couple of splashes on his jogging pants and right hand. After Marty got up, he saw an open can of paint lying on the floor in front of a stack of paint cans that were displayed at the end of the aisle he rounded. According to Marty, the spilled paint had come from this can, and this can was the same as those stacked in the display. Larry, however, did not see the paint can. Marty stated that the paint was intact and not spread out very much. There were no tracks, buggy marks, or anything that indicated to him that someone before him had walked through the paint. Larry similarly testified that the only tracks he saw leading out of the spill were Marty's tracks.

At that point, Marty tried to find a K Mart employee so that he could tell them about the paint spill. He found Jerry Duprey in the garden center, which was adjacent to the home improvements department. According to Marty, Duprey was talking on the telephone when he found him. Marty stated that he walked over to Duprey and told him that he had slipped and fell on some paint and that someone needed to clean it up. Duprey responded by saying that he knew the paint was there, and he was trying to get somebody to clean it up.

Marty and Larry then proceeded to the front of the store where they purchased the paint. As Marty was walking out of the store he overheard two employees near the check-out lines talking on the telephone about the accident, and he told them that he was the one that had fallen in the paint. Marty and Larry left the store and returned to work since their lunch hour was almost over. According to Marty, the accident happened around 12:30 p.m. Marty returned to K Mart later that day around 3:30 p.m. to complete an accident report. He spoke with Robert Reuter, a Merchandise Assistant Manager and completed the report in Reuter's office.

The testimony of Jerry Duprey varies somewhat from that of Marty Hardy's testimony. Duprey testified that he first became *37 aware of the paint spill as he was talking on the telephone. According to Duprey, two young men approached him and one rudely said "get somebody over there to clean up that damn mess. I almost slipped and busted my ass." Duprey could not remember why he was originally on the telephone, but after he learned of the spill he immediately tried to call Reuter to determine what should be done since he could not leave his area unattended. Duprey further stated that he contacted Mr. Reuter at the service desk, and while he was on the telephone with Reuter the two young men returned and said "are you going to get somebody over there to clean up the damn mess or not." Duprey described the men as being about 16 to 18 years in age. He did not notice whether they had any paint on their feet or were tracking paint through the store. After Duprey found someone to cover his area, he went to the spill as directed by Reuter. Reuter shortly arrived at the spill also. When he arrived at the spill, Duprey found a paint can tipped on its side which was not damaged in any manner. He did not notice whether or not anyone had tracked through the paint, and he was unable to ascertain what caused the spill and how long the paint had been on the floor prior to Marty's accident.

Reuter testified that when he arrived at the spill he found a gallon paint can lying in the paint about two to two and one-half feet away from the display. He too was unable to tell how long the paint had been there or what caused the spill. According to Reuter, he and Duprey cleaned up the paint around 12:30 p.m. At that time he noticed that a buggy had been pushed through the spill. Reuter did not learn that Marty had fallen until Marty returned to the store later that afternoon to complete the accident report. Reuter, who managed the store's display configurations, testified that there was no manager working in the home improvements department on the day of the accident. Since there was no one in charge of that department, Reuter was responsible for checking the floor for foreign items on a periodic basis. According to Reuter, he was not aware of any company policy regarding how often he was to check the floor; however, he stated that on average he checked it twice each day. The only time that Reuter had checked the floor on that particular day was between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.

THE CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO THE DEFENDANT, K MART CORPORATION.

This Court conducts a de novo review of summary judgments. Mantachie Natural Gas Dist. v. Mississippi Valley Gas Co., 594 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss. 1992). When reviewing summary judgments, this Court

looks at all the evidentiary matters before [us] — admissions in pleadings, answers to interrogatories, depositions, affidavits, etc. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion has been made. If, in this view, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should forthwith be entered in his favor. Otherwise, the motion should be denied.

Daniels v. GNB, Inc., 629 So.2d 595, 599 (Miss. 1993) (quoting Mantachie,

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Bluebook (online)
669 So. 2d 34, 1996 WL 63960, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hardy-v-k-mart-corp-miss-1996.