Lewis v. Faulkner Real Estate Corp.

403 S.W.3d 64, 2013 WL 2711081, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 91
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJune 14, 2013
DocketNo. 2009-CA-001224-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 403 S.W.3d 64 (Lewis v. Faulkner Real Estate Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Faulkner Real Estate Corp., 403 S.W.3d 64, 2013 WL 2711081, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 91 (Ky. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

CLAYTON, Judge:

Philip E. Lewis moved for discretionary review of the original decision of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The Kentucky Supreme Court granted the motion, vacated our original decision, and remanded for our consideration in light of their decision in Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh, 819 S.W.3d 385 (Ky.2010). The decision was handed down thirteen days after our original decision. For the reasons stated below, we again affirm the trial court’s summary judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

One day in early June 2007, while walking his dog, Lewis was injured when he stepped into a hole on the retail property of Faulkner Real Estate Corporation, Central Retail, LLC, and Central Retail Out-lot, LLC (hereinafter “Faulkner”). Lewis is unable to specifically recall the actual date of the accident but he does remember that it occurred in the early afternoon. On that day, Lewis and his roommate were engaged in conversation as they walked their dogs. Lewis, who was familiar with the area because it was his neighborhood, often walked down this particular street. For some inexplicable reason, Lewis stepped off the sidewalk and into a hole, which ostensibly caused injury to his foot.

Lewis could not provide any reason for stepping off the sidewalk. And he admitted that there was nothing on the sidewalk that obstructed his path and he was not forced to walk off the sidewalk. In fact, he indicated that nothing obstructed his view nor were any other pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. Furthermore, Lewis conveyed that the weather was clear, and he was wearing slide-on sandals. When it happened, he fell forward and landed in the grass on his hands and knees. After a few seconds, he got up and returned home. Lewis did not seek medical attention until the following day.

On June 10, 2008, Lewis filed a complaint in Jefferson Circuit Court alleging negligence on the part of Faulkner. Then, on March 27, 2009, after both written discovery and depositions were conducted, Faulkner filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that because the hole where Lewis fell was an “open and obvious” condition, there were no genuine issues of material fact. On June 3, 2009, the trial court granted Faulkner summary judgment because it concurred with the assess[66]*66ment that the condition was “open and obvious.”

Thereafter, Lewis filed an appeal with our court in which he maintained that the trial court erred in granting summary-judgment. On August 13, 2010, we affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment. Within two weeks of our decision being rendered, however, the Kentucky Supreme Court decided McIntosh, which addressed a similar issue. At this juncture, Lewis filed a petition for rehearing with the Court of Appeals because of McIntosh. We denied the motion. Next, he filed a motion for discretionary review with the Supreme Court, which was granted, and the case was remanded for further consideration in light of McIntosh.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

On appeal, the standard of review for summary judgment is whether the trial court correctly found that there were no genuine issues as to any material fact, and if so, the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) 56.03; Scifres v. Kraft, 916 S.W.2d 779 (Ky.App.1996). Moreover, a summary judgment is reviewed de novo because factual findings are not at issue. Pinkston v. Audubon Area Community Services, Inc., 210 S.W.3d 188,189 (Ky.App.2006), citing Blevins v. Moran, 12 S.W.3d 698, 700 (Ky.App.2000).

In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we, like the trial court, must consider the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, which in this case would be Lewis. Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Center, Inc., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (Ky.1991). Keeping this in mind, we consider the salient facts giving rise to Lewis’s complaint to determine whether Faulkner has established its right to judgment “with such clarity that there is no room left for controversy.” Id. at 482. Furthermore, our analysis will include a consideration of the caselaw found in McIntosh.

ANALYSIS

The issue herein is whether the grant of summary judgment was proper. This case involves a negligence-based premises liability action. In essence, to hold a party liable for negligence under Kentucky law, a party making the claim must demonstrate that the other party owed them a duty, that they breached that duty, that the breach caused an injury to the party claiming negligence and that the party suffered damages. Pathways, Inc. v. Hammons, 113 S.W.3d 85, 88 (Ky.2003)

In our original assessment, we had to discern whether any material fact existed precluding the court’s assessment that the condition on the premises was “open and obvious,” and, therefore, a complete bar to liability. In that appeal, Lewis argued that the condition of the hole, from his perspective, was not “open and obvious,” and thus, Faulkner owed him a duty. Faulkner countered that the condition of the hole was noticeable, and thus, under the “open and obvious” doctrine, it did not owe a duty to warn an invitee.

In Kentucky, the possessor of land has a duty to an invitee to maintain property in a reasonably safe condition. City of Madisonville v. Poole, 249 S.W.2d 133, 135 (Ky.1952). The parties do not dispute that Lewis’s status on the premises was that of an invitee. Prior to McIntosh, the landowner did not have a duty to warn an invitee of conditions that are “open and obvious” to a reasonable person. Bonn v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 440 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Ky.1969); Johnson v. Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon of Kentucky, Inc., 997 S.W.2d 490, 492 (Ky.App.1999). The term [67]*67“obvious” has been explained to mean “that both the condition and the risk are apparent to and would be recognized by a reasonable man in the position of the visitor exercising ordinary perception, intelligence and judgment.” Bonn, 440 S.W.2d at 529.

The Court has described the invitee’s responsibilities as a visitor in the following manner:

An invitee has a right to assume that the premises he has been invited to use are reasonably safe, but this does not relieve him of the duty to exercise ordinary care for his own safety, nor does it license him to walk blindly into dangers that are obvious, known to him, or would be anticipated by one of ordinary prudence.

Smith v. Smith, 441 S.W.2d 165, 166 (Ky. 1969).

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403 S.W.3d 64, 2013 WL 2711081, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-faulkner-real-estate-corp-kyctapp-2013.