Background
Plaintiff Jonathan Lewis slipped on a painted line in a Circle K parking lot after an employee cleaned the area with water and a powdered concrete cleaner without warning signs. Lewis suffered a patellar tendon rupture and sued for premises liability. The district court granted summary judgment for Circle K, ruling the danger was open and obvious and that Lewis lacked expert testimony on causation. The district court also denied spoliation sanctions after Circle K repainted the lot stripes before Lewis’s expert could inspect them.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied South Carolina law, noting that merchants owe a duty of reasonable care to invitees, including vulnerable populations. The court held that while wet concrete is common, the specific hazard of a chemical cleaning agent creates a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether the danger was open and obvious. Furthermore, the court found that questions of breach and causation are best reserved for the jury given the factual disputes, reversing the summary judgment and vacating the Daubert and spoliation rulings.
But in light of extant factual disputes, such questions of breach and causation are best reserved for the jury.
What it means going forward
The case returns to the district court for trial, where a jury will determine if the chemical hazard was open and obvious and if expert testimony is required to prove causation.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download