Sharon Spangler v. Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc.

689 F. App'x 830
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMay 26, 2017
Docket16-60849 Summary Calendar
StatusUnpublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 689 F. App'x 830 (Sharon Spangler v. Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sharon Spangler v. Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc., 689 F. App'x 830 (5th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

This appeal is from the grant of summary judgment in a personal injury action brought pursuant to diversity jurisdiction. The principal issues on appeal are whether the district court properly held that there was no genuine issue of material fact with *831 respect to whether the business (1) negligently caused an unreasonably dangerous condition on its premises or (2) had constructive knowledge of that condition. Finding no error, we AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This suit stems from a slip-and-fall incident that occurred in the bathroom of a casino. Plaintiff-Appellant Sharon Span-gler (“Spangler”) was a regular customer of the Defendant-Appellee Beau Rivage Resorts (“Beau Rivage”). She had frequented this particular single-person restroom at the casino for 20 years. Surveillance video indicated that on October 14, 2014, at 11:23am, Lynis McBride, a manager-employee at Beau Rivage, entered the restroom at issue, and, a little less than two minutes later, she exited the restroom. During McBride’s deposition, she testified that she did not recall walking into the restroom or the condition of the restroom during this particular visit. McBride testified that if she had noticed liquid on the floor, she would have called the Public Area Department to have the liquid cleaned up. When questioned whether she “would have walked in there for another purpose other than [to] use the restroom,” McBride responded affirmatively, testifying that she would sometimes just check her hair and lipstick or blow her nose.

The surveillance video further demonstrated that Spangler entered the restroom approximately four and a half minutes after McBride exited the restroom. The video showed that no one entered or exited the restroom in between McBride’s and Spangler’s visits.

During her deposition testimony, Span-gler stated that she had used this restroom for 20 years and that it had always been clean. She had never seen water on the floor prior to that date. She also testified that the “lighting is good” in that restroom and that the floor “looks like marble” and is “very slippery.”

With respect to the day in question, Spangler testified that she walked in the restroom and put her purse and drink on the sink and walked to the toilet. She then “went to turn around and sit down [and] went down.” After falling down, she saw a puddle of water in front of the toilet. She had “no idea” how long the water had been on the floor prior to her arrival. When Spangler was shown photographs of the restroom, she testifiéd that the water was not visible in the photographs “because of the way the floor is made.” Spangler admitted that she had no information to show that “Beau Rivage or any of its employees knew that there was liquid on the floor in the restroom.”

On October 2, 2015, Spangler filed the instant complaint against Beau Rivage, alleging that the water in the restroom was an unreasonably dangerous condition and that Beau Rivage’s negligence caused her personal injuries with respect to her slip- and-fall accident. The complaint also alleged that the fall caused her “to suffer contusions to her arm and a blunt trauma to her head.”

Subsequently, Beau Rivage filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Spangler failed to show that “Beau Rivage or any of its employees ‘created’ this alleged liquid to be on the floor, had actual knowledge of any alleged dangerous condition on the floor but failed to warn the Plaintiff, or that Defendant knew or should have known that this dangerous condition existed for a sufficient time to impute constructive knowledge to the Defendant.”

In support of its motion for summary judgment, Beau Rivage submitted the affidavit of Fred Vanderbrook, a professional engineer it had retained to provide expert *832 testimony. In the affidavit, Vanderbrook stated that he had tested the restroom floor for slippage under both dry and wet conditions and the results were compiled in a written report with the affidavit. The affidavit also provided that the “restroom has had the same configuration for ten years with no prior reported slip and fall incidents.” Vanderbrook’s opinion was that the “floors of this restroom did not create an unreasonable risk or harm to patrons exercising normal care for their own safety when using this restroom.” Beau Rivage also submitted photographs of the shoes that Spangler wore at the time of the slip and fall. In the photographs, it appears that the tread on the soles of the shoes is somewhat worn down.

In addition, Beau Rivage submitted the affidavit of its employee, Gene Deaton, a Supervisor in the Engineering Department. On the date of the incident, Deaton inspected both the sink and the toilet and did not detect any leaks, Deaton concluded that both plumbing fixtures were operating properly and that no repairs were necessary. Additionally, Beau Rivage submitted a chart that indicated that the restroom had been checked approximately once an hour prior to the incident on the day in question.

Spangler did not file a response to the motion for summary judgment. In a memorandum opinion and order, the district court granted the motion for summary judgment, holding that Spangler “provided no evidence from which a jury could find that the water was on the restroom floor because Beau Rivage personnel committed some negligent act, or that Beau Rivage personnel had actual knowledge of water on the restroom floor, or that the water had been on the restroom floor long enough that Beau Rivage.personnel should have known it was there.” 1 The court dismissed Spangler’s claims with prejudice and entered judgment in favor of Beau Rivage. Spangler filed a timely notice of appeal.

II. ANALYSIS

This Court reviews a “grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court.” QBE Ins. Corp. v. Brown & Mitchell, Inc., 591 F.3d 439, 442 (5th Cir. 2009). The moving party is entitled to summary judgment if it “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).

The Mississippi Supreme Court has held that to recover in a slip-and-fall case, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the “proprietor had actual knowledge of a dangerous condition, or the dangerous condition existed for a sufficient amount of time to establish constructive knowledge, in that the proprietor should have known of the condition, or the dangerous condition was created through a negligent act of a store’s proprietor or his employees.” Munford, Inc., v. Fleming, 597 So.2d 1282, 1284 (Miss. 1992) (emphasis in opinion). Here, there is no assertion that Beau Rivage or its employees had actual knowledge of a dangerous condition. Instead, Spangler contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment because there is a genuine issue. of material fact with respect to whether: (1) Beau Rivage had constructive knowledge of the water on the floor; and (2) McBride negligently caused the water to puddle.

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689 F. App'x 830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sharon-spangler-v-beau-rivage-resorts-inc-ca5-2017.