Spicer Rudstrom is proud to highlight a great result achieved by partner Thomas Hickey. The case originated in Coffee County Circuit Court, but was removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The plaintiff made allegations that a condition on the premises was defective and dangerous, which allegedly caused his injury. The plaintiff struck his head on a box attached to a support pole on the premises. The allegations in the complaint claimed that the premises owner created the unsafe condition and failed to warn customers of the condition.
After obtaining the testimony of the plaintiff, Hickey filed a motion for summary judgment, pointing out to the Court that the condition on the premises was clearly within the view of the plaintiff and that the plaintiff had nothing to obstruct his view from the condition where he was injured. Hickey argued that no other incidents had occurred with regard to this alleged dangerous condition and that the plaintiff previously admitted that there was nothing that interfered with his view of the area.
The Court began its analysis by citing the arguments set forth by Hickey. The Court agreed that the plaintiff was unable to establish a duty of care was owed with regard to the condition complained of in the lawsuit. The Court relied on Hickey’s argument that (1) no reasonable jury would conclude that the premises owner had any duty to warn the plaintiff of this condition which was obviously there for him to see and (2) finding that the area complained of was not dangerous in and of itself. The Court held that the element of duty could not be proven by the plaintiff, and entered an Order granting Summary Judgment.
This outcome underscores Spicer Rudstrom’s expertise in defending clients in premises liability cases. Congratulations to Thomas Hickey on another outstanding result that illustrates the firm’s commitment to delivering exceptional legal advocacy.