Michelle Pesnell and Mark Howe, on behalf of Mary Howe, deceased v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana grants Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall action. Applying Louisiana’s Merchant Liability Act, the court concludes that the plaintiffs failed to present competent, non-speculative evidence establishing that a hazardous condition on Hobby Lobby’s premises caused the fall. The claims are dismissed with prejudice.

Holdings

1. A plaintiff asserting merchant liability for a fall must present competent, non-speculative evidence that a condition on the merchant's premises caused the fall. Plaintiffs failed to do so because the evidence showed only that Howe fell and did not identify the condition that caused the fall.
2. Summary judgment was appropriate because plaintiffs failed to produce evidence sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to find that a hazardous condition caused Howe's fall.
3. The EMS report's statement concerning what Howe thought caused her fall was inadmissible hearsay within hearsay and did not fall within the medical-diagnosis-and-treatment exception because the cause of the fall was legally significant rather than medically necessary for treatment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiffs presented sufficient competent evidence to create a genuine dispute that a condition on Hobby Lobby's premises caused Howe's fall, as required by Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:2800.6.
2. Whether plaintiffs' pleadings, interrogatory responses, EMS statement, and later photographs constituted competent summary-judgment evidence sufficient to establish causation and defeat summary judgment.

Disposition

dismissed