Pace v. Wal-Mart Stores E., LP

337 F. Supp. 3d 513
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 18, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17-1829
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 337 F. Supp. 3d 513 (Pace v. Wal-Mart Stores E., LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pace v. Wal-Mart Stores E., LP, 337 F. Supp. 3d 513 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

Baylson, District Judge.

I. Introduction

On August 23, 2015, Plaintiff Arthur Pace, Jr. slipped and fell on a grape or grapes or grape juice in the produce section at a Walmart in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He subsequently filed this action alleging one count of premises liability negligence. Defendant Wal-Mart Stores *516East, LP has now moved for summary judgment, which this Court GRANTS .

II. Background

On the afternoon of August 23, 2015, Plaintiff was shopping, as he often did, at a Wal-Mart in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Charmone Pace, and his two children, Arthur Pace, III and Aleah Pace. (Pl.'s SOF ¶¶ 4-5; Def.'s SOF ¶¶ 4-5). Plaintiff described seeing "lots of customers in the store" and Wal-Mart associates "all over the place." (Pl.'s SOF ¶ 6; Def.'s SOF ¶ 6).

While in the produce aisle, Plaintiff slipped and fell; after falling, Plaintiff noticed a smashed grape or grapes on his shoe and in a smear on the floor. (Pl.'s SOF ¶¶ 7-9; Def.'s SOF ¶¶ 7-9). Plaintiff, in his statement of facts, conceded that he and his family did not know "how the grape(s) got onto the floor, how long the grape(s) were on the floor before the incident or whether Defendant's employees knew the grape(s) was on the floor." (Pl.'s SOF ¶¶ 15-19).

Plaintiff's injury was not captured on video submitted into the record, but a video of security camera footage entitled "Action Alley Produce" provides a partial view of the aisle in which the incident occurred. (See"Action Alley Produce," Ex. 6 to Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J.). The video shows the following: at approximately 3:40 PM, a Wal-Mart employee enters the produce aisle from the top of the frame, pulling a cart loaded with boxes. The employee stops next to the left-hand produce case and unloads the contents of each box into the case; once the box is empty, she can be seen breaking down the box. She pulls the cart toward the bottom of the frame at 3:45, so that thereafter the cart and boxes are mostly out of view. She exits the frame several times, usually for only a few seconds, and once (at around 3:54) for around fifteen seconds, always returning with a full box to be unloaded into the left-hand case. At 3:58, she leaves the aisle, bringing the cart with her.

Plaintiff's injury occurs just out of view below the lower right-hand corner of the frame at 4:20. A Wal-Mart employee with a clipboard can be seen at 4:21 near the lower right-hand corner of the frame, and is joined by another employee walking rapidly toward Plaintiff at 4:22. Plaintiff is helped up at 4:22, and offered a chair at 4:23, which is placed against the right-hand produce case. At 4:38, paramedics arrive with a stretcher, and then proceed to put Plaintiff on the stretcher, before wheeling him away at 4:41 PM.

The second Wal-Mart employee to arrive at the scene can be seen walking past a piece of trash or debris that a shopper dropped at 4:08. Two other Wal-Mart employees walk past the item, which is visible as a white pixel on the video, at 4:44 and 4:55. The item can be seen near a display at the end of the aisle until the end of the video.

Plaintiff evidently sought ongoing care, and saw orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Allen on September 21, 2015. Dr. Allen's note listed the conditions "[u]nresolved [l]umbar spine sprain"; "[l]umbar [r]adiculopathy"; and "[f]racture of the proximal fibula of the right leg." (Note, Ex. 3 to Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. for Summ. J. at 20, ECF 22-1). The note also stated, "It is my opinion, to a degree of medical certainty, that these conditions are a direct result of the accident of August 23, 2015." (Id. ) Plaintiff underwent a total knee replacement in October 2017. (Pl.'s SOF ¶ 31; Def.'s SOF ¶ 31).

Wal-Mart's corporate designee, Yvette Lomax, who has been store manager at the Wal-Mart in Willow Grove since 2017, testified that Wal-Mart has in place a policy *517or procedure requiring employees conduct "safety sweeps" to ensure that floors are clear of debris; if there are any spills, employees must clean up the spill or watch the spill until someone else comes to clean it up. (Lomax Dep. 26:12-17, Ex. 4 to Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. to Dismiss, ECF 22-2). Safety sweeps should be "consistent and constantly happening throughout the day," although no documentary records are made when sweeps happen. (Id. 26:20-21; 27:4). When asked questions about what had happened at the Wal-Mart in Willow Grove on August 23, 2015, such as whether the floors had been cleaned, Lomax, who had not been the store manager at that time, repeatedly stated that she could not answer the question. (Id. 49:3-19). Lomax did testify that she was unaware of any document that would show when the floor was cleaned or maintained at the Willow Grove Wal-Mart on August 23, 2015. (Id. 50:4-8).

III. Procedural History

Sometime in early 2017, Plaintiff filed this lawsuit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. On April 18, 2017, Defendant removed this action to this Court. (Removal, ECF 1). Defendant filed an Answer on May 31, 2017. (Answer, ECF 3). After the close of discovery, Defendant moved for summary judgment on March 15, 2018. (Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., ECF 19). Plaintiff filed a memorandum in opposition on April 5, 2018. (Pl.'s Opp. to Mot. to Dismiss, ECF 22). Defendant filed a reply on April 19, 2018. (Reply in Support of Mot. for Summ. J., ECF 25).

Oral argument was held on July 11, 2018. This argument was devoted mostly to the allegation of Plaintiff that Walmart had not produced a full set of the videos of the store at the time of this incident. Plaintiff's position, at that argument, was that one of the store managers had implied that the cameras taking the videos were able to cover the entire store, but there was no video produced of the section of the store where Plaintiff fell. Such a video, if it existed, was arguably relevant because it might indicate whether the cause of Plaintiff's fall was due to some act or omission by Walmart, or by a customer, or just accidentally, or otherwise. Because of that possibility, the Court indulged Plaintiff's counsel in this quest to determine whether there were additional videos. Plaintiff's counsel was, to some extent, confusing the concept of the "camera" which took the video, and the resulting videos which had been produced by Walmart. Plaintiff's counsel suggested there may be spoliation and that Walmart may have destroyed a video that showed the exact location in the store where the incident took place. As a result of this discussion, the Court then determined that it would enter an order requiring Defendant to produce an affidavit "on the subject matter of in-store videos on the day in question in this case" and allowing the affiant to be deposed for one hour. (Order, ECF 31). After Defendant submitted the affidavit of Fabian Wright (ECF 33), Plaintiff filed a motion to compel documents seeking to force Defendant to produce at the deposition a map of the store showing the locations of all cameras in the store and the direction they pointed. (Mot. to Compel, ECF 34). It is relevant to note that during the argument of July 11, 2018, Plaintiff's counsel had never requested the additional material that was requested in this motion to compel. All issues, as to any further discovery, could have been and should have been raised at the argument on July 11, 2018.

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337 F. Supp. 3d 513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pace-v-wal-mart-stores-e-lp-paed-2018.