True v. Fath Bluegrass Manor Apartment

358 S.W.3d 23, 2011 WL 6412093, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 247
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedDecember 22, 2011
DocketNo. 2010-CA-001784-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 358 S.W.3d 23 (True v. Fath Bluegrass Manor Apartment) 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
True v. Fath Bluegrass Manor Apartment, 358 S.W.3d 23, 2011 WL 6412093, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 247 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

THOMPSON, Judge:

Brandon True appeals from a summary judgment of the Kenton Circuit Court dismissing his claim against his landlord, Fath Bluegrass Manor Apartment, for injuries sustained when he fell from his apartment balcony. He contends that there are material issues of fact requiring that this Court reverse the summary judgment or, alternatively, remand to the circuit court to consider the application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh, 319 S.W.3d 385 (Ky.2010). We agree with the circuit court that Fath cannot be liable for True’s injuries caused by an open and obvious hazard that True was aware of prior to his fall. Further, we hold that, under the facts, McIntosh does not apply and, therefore, remand is unnecessary.

On May 13, 2008, True and his girlfriend, Kassie Habermehl, executed a lease agreement with Fath. Prior to occupying the second-floor apartment, the couple walked through the apartment and inspected the premises for defects. As part [24]*24of the walk-through, the couple inspected a platform balcony surrounded on three sides by a metal railing secured by screws. The railing had a metal horizontal handhold along its top and a series of equally spaced vertical metal bars connecting it to a horizontal bar along the bottom. Access to the balcony was provided by a sliding glass door, opening from the inside to the balcony’s left side.

Following the walk-through, True and Habermehl completed a move-in checklist which acknowledged the condition of the leased premises, including that the balcony rails were “very loose.” The lease contained the following provision:

10. CONDITION OF PREMISES: Resident acknowledges by signing this Lease Agreement that they accept the premises as is and shall promptly examine the premises and document any defects therein on the Move In/Move Out Inspection Checklist within seven (7) days of move in. There are no representations made by the Landlord, either implied or expressed to alter or improve the premises before or during the term of the Lease Agreement. At the expiration of this Lease Agreement, the Resident agrees to return the premises in the same condition as when occupancy began, reasonable wear and tear expected.

The parties acknowledged that the primary purpose of the checklist was for the tenant to note any damage to the apartment so the tenant’s security deposit would not be debited for items noted when the apartment is vacated. In his deposition, True further acknowledged that he knew he was accepting the apartment “as is” and that the move-in checklist was not an agreement to make repairs.

Prior to the date True moved into the apartment, Christine Plummer, Fath’s property manager, testified that she requested that maintenance supervisor Robert Simpson inspect the loose railing. Simpson testified that he repaired a loose spindle.

After True, Habermehl and their child moved into the apartment, the couple noticed that the balcony railing remained loose. To prevent anyone from leaning over the rail, True testified that he placed a grill in front of the right side of the loose railing and told guests to “watch out for the railing.” Habermehl also knew the railing was loose. She testified that True knew there were screws missing and there was no reason that True should have believed it was repaired. The work orders submitted into the record by Fath revealed that since moving into the apartment in May and prior to True’s fall, several repair requests had been made by True and Habermehl but there were no complaints regarding the railing.

True could not recall the precise date he fell but testified that prior to the fall, he had been grilling and had eaten dinner. He stated that he had one alcoholic drink and denied being intoxicated. True has little recollection of the events surrounding his fall, and only remembered putting his hand on the railing and that it collapsed.

True’s medical records indicate that he arrived at St. Luke Hospital on the morning of July 27, 2008, where he received medical treatment. The records state that True’s condition was difficult to assess because he was intoxicated. He was transferred to another hospital where, again, a notation was entered that True was intoxicated and that True reported to his attending physicians that he was drinking and fell from his balcony. After treating physicians determined that True had become sober, and that he did not suffer any significant injuries, he was released.

[25]*25Immediately after the fall, neither True nor Habermehl advised Fath that True had fallen or that the balcony railing was missing. However, sometime later, Plum-mer observed that the balcony railing had been removed. Shane Johnson, a maintenance person, was sent to the apartment where he discovered the removed section of the railing leaning against another section. He testified that it was severely damaged and that the only cause of the damage could be extremely hard kicks to the railing. Following the inspection, on August 7, 2008, True was issued a letter advising him of Fath’s policy against removing balcony railings and was assessed a fee for the repair and reinstallation of the railing. Sometime between July 20 and July 23, 2009, Johnson wrote a report stating that he had observed a lady at True’s apartment jerking the balcony spindles.

On July 21, 2009, True filed his complaint against Fath. Soon thereafter, Fath received a work order to repair loose screws on the balcony and the repairs were completed on July 24, 2009.

Following discovery, Fath filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that as a matter of law, it had no duty to repair the railing. The circuit court agreed but concluded that there was an issue of fact as to whether Fath undertook the duty to repair and did so negligently.

Fath renewed its motion for summary judgment addressing the negligent repair claim. It pointed out that True and Ha-bermehl testified that True fell because of missing screws in the railing, but the only repair to the balcony railing was a tightened spindle before the couple moved into the apartment. It emphasized that True and Habermehl testified that prior to True’s fall, they knew the balcony railing was loose and had not been repaired. After a review of the record, the circuit court granted Fath’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the action.

We review a summary judgment de novo and in accordance with well-established standards:

The standard of review on appeal when a trial court grants a motion for summary judgment is whether the trial court correctly found that there were no genuine issues as to any material fact and that the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and summary judgment should be granted only if it appears impossible that the nonmoving party will be able to produce evidence at trial warranting a judgment in his favor. The moving party bears the initial burden of showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and then the burden shifts to the party opposing summary judgment to present at least some affirmative evidence showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. The trial court must examine the evidence, not to decide any issue of fact, but to discover if a real issue exists.

Lewis v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
358 S.W.3d 23, 2011 WL 6412093, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/true-v-fath-bluegrass-manor-apartment-kyctapp-2011.