Hunt v. Golden Corral Corp.

116 So. 3d 1035, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 06, 2013 WL 3331103, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1386
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 3, 2013
DocketNo. 13-06
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 116 So. 3d 1035 (Hunt v. Golden Corral Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hunt v. Golden Corral Corp., 116 So. 3d 1035, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 06, 2013 WL 3331103, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1386 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

GENOVESE, Judge.

| plaintiff, Leola Hunt,1 filed suit against Golden Corral Corporation (Golden Corral) for damages related to a trip-and-fall accident. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of Golden Corral, finding that Plaintiffs lacked the requisite evidence to prove that the restaurant’s sidewalk was unreasonably dangerous. [1036]*1036Plaintiffs have appealed. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

According to the petition filed in this matter, “[o]n ... February 23, 2006, Leola Hunt was a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk located on the exterior of the Golden Corral Restaurant on Ambassador Caffery Parkway in Lafayette, Louisiana.” Mrs. Hunt claims that her “walker became stuck in a void where the landscape edging meets the ... sidewalk, causing her to fall into the landscaped area.” She suffered “injuries to her left leg, right hand, complications to a transplanted kidneyt,] and bruising and soreness of her body in general.” Mrs. Hunt contends that her injuries “are the result of the wanton and gross negligence” of Golden Corral for “the unreasonably dangerous condition created by the improperly maintained sidewalk[.]” Mrs. Hunt filed her petition for damages on September 8, 2006.

Golden Corral filed a motion for summary judgment on May 12, 2011, contending that Plaintiffs lacked the requisite evidence to prove that its sidewalk was unreasonably dangerous or that it had the requisite prior knowledge that an unreasonably dangerous condition existed. In support of its motion, Golden Corral offered excerpts from the depositions of Albert Broussard, Mrs. Hunt’s husband, Land Jules R. Courville, the front-of-the-house manager for Golden Corral on the date of Mrs. Hunt’s accident. Both men were present when Mrs. Hunt’s trip-and-fall accident occurred.

According to Mr. Broussard’s deposition testimony, he was uncertain of the size of the gap between the sidewalk and the metal landscape edging where the wheel of Mrs. Hunt’s walker allegedly became lodged prior to her fall. According to Mr. Courville, the gap between the sidewalk and the metal landscape edging was less than a half an inch. Mr. Courville also stated that he witnessed Mrs. Hunt fall after she lost her balance when she leaned over to spit into the flowerbed.

Golden Corral’s motion was denied by the trial court on the basis that there were genuine issues of material fact relative to the size of the alleged gap between the sidewalk and the landscape edging and whether or not the sidewalk was considered a handicap entrance, which would have required compliance with Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regulations. A judgment to this effect was signed by the trial court on June 23, 2011.

Golden Corral filed a second motion for summary judgment on May 14, 2012. Golden Corral reiterated its argument that Plaintiffs lacked the requisite evidence to prove that its sidewalk was unreasonably dangerous or that it had the requisite prior knowledge that an unreasonably dangerous condition existed. In support of its motion, Golden Corral offered the affidavit of J. David Brinson, a licensed architect, attesting to the condition of the sidewalk. According to Mr. Brinson, he viewed photographs of the sidewalk that were taken immediately after Mrs. Hunt’s fall as well as the present condition of the sidewalk. He opined that the sidewalk where Mrs. Hunt fell complied with ADA regulations and that it did not present an unreasonable risk of harm to the patrons of Golden Corral.

| sAt the July 9, 2012 hearing, the trial court ruled:

The issue, of course, is whether or not— one of the issues is whether or not the sidewalk itself is unreasonably dangerous, and, of course, there is no evidence that that is correct. It’s a question of what happens if somebody goes off the sidewalk with a walker. We now have [1037]*1037an expert saying that this situation was acceptable. In fact, in his report, he even says that it was probably a good thing because it served as a barrier — it was a different color, and it served as a demarcation of the edge of the sidewalk.
I’m going to grant the motion for summary judgment. [Plaintiffs have] been unable to come up with substantial facts to refute the premise that the expert presents and I don’t think [they] could meet [their] burden of proof at trial.

The trial court’s judgment stated that Golden Corral was “entitled to summary judgment in its favor dismissing [Plaintiffs’ claims as there was no disputable evidence establishing that the alleged condition causing the incident was an unreasonable risk of harm.” Plaintiffs have appealed this judgment.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

On appeal, Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in: (1) granting summary judgment in favor of Golden Corral; (2) relying upon the opinion of Defendant’s expert; and, (3) ruling that they would be unable to meet their burden of proof at trial.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Our Louisiana Supreme Court has set forth the governing jurisprudence relative to a motion for summary judgment and our appellate standard of review thereof as follows:

Appellate review of the granting of a motion for summary judgment is de novo, using the identical criteria that govern the trial court’s consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Bonin v. Westport Ins. Corp., 05-0886, p. 4 (La.5/17/06), 930 So.2d 906, 910; Schroeder v. Bd. of Supervisors of La. State Univ., 591 So.2d 342, 345 (La. 1991). A motion for summary judgment is properly granted only if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, |4and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966; Duncan v. USAA Ins. Co., 06-0363, p. 4 (La.11/29/06), 950 So.2d 544, 546-547. A fact is material if it potentially insures or precludes recovery, affects a litigant’s ultimate success, or determines the outcome of the legal dispute. Hines v. Garrett, 04-0806, p. 1 (La.6/25/04), 876 So.2d 764, 765 (per curiam )(citing Smith v. Our Lady of the Lake Hosp., Inc., 93-2512, p. 27 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 730, 751). A genuine issue of material fact is one as to which reasonable persons could disagree; if reasonable persons could reach only one conclusion, there is no need for trial on that issue and summary judgment is appropriate. Hines, 876 So.2d at 765-66.

Smitko v. Gulf South Shrimp, Inc., 11-2566, pp. 7-8 (La.7/2/12), 94 So.3d 750, 755.

In the instant case, Plaintiffs allege that Golden Corral was negligent due to an unreasonably dangerous sidewalk at its restaurant. As such, Plaintiffs have the burden of proving Golden Corral’s negligence at trial. Davis v. Country Living Mobile Homes, Inc., 11-471 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/19/11), 76 So.3d 1248 (citing Bias v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 10-378 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/10/10), 50 So.3d 964). Thus, Golden Corral, as movant of the motion for summary judgment herein, does not bear the burden of negating all essential elements of Plaintiffs’ claims. See La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(C)(2). Rather, Golden Corral need only “point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party’s claim, action, or defense.” Id. If [1038]

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Bluebook (online)
116 So. 3d 1035, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 06, 2013 WL 3331103, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunt-v-golden-corral-corp-lactapp-2013.