Superior Court Reverses Entry of Summary Judgment in Slip and Fall Case

Tort Talkers may recall the previous blog post on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas decision in the case of Gumby v. Karns Prime and Fancy Food, LTD. in which that court granted summary judgment in a supermarket slip and fall case.

As an update it is noted that the Pennsylvania Superior Court just issued a non-precedential decision at No. 1030 MDA 2019 (Pa. Super. Dec. 30, 2019 Panella, P.J, Colins, J., and Kunselman, J.)(Op. by Kunselman, J.)(Non-precedential) reversing the trial court's granting of summary judgment. 

The appellate court found that issues of fact required the case to go to the jury.  More specifically, the appellate court pointed to admissions by store representatives that the alleged condition was of a type the recurred frequently (grapes falling to the floor) such that a jury may find that such incidents recurred so frequently that the store could be said to have had actual notice of the problem.

The court also noted that this evidence created an issue of fact as to whether or not the store took reasonable steps to prevent this situation from occurring again and again.

Anyone wishing to review this decision may click this LINK.