Around The Firm

Philip B. Grennan and Erin J. Varriano won summary judgment in McElyea v. XYZ Corp., a premises-liability case. Plaintiff claimed that she suffered injuries when she slipped and fell on ice in the store’s parking lot. Phil and Erin successfully argued that XYZ was not liable because the mere presence of snow or ice does not constitute an unreasonable risk of harm, especially since plaintiff had knowledge of the condition, and XYZ provided a safer alternative route. The court agreed and dismissed the case. ... Phil Grennan and Janis G. Pelletier won summary judgment in Diaz v. XYZ Corp, a slip-and-fall action in which the plaintiff fell on juice in the store’s main aisles. Although the plaintiff conceded that she lacked proof that XYZ’s employees caused or had adequate notice of the spill, she argued that notice was not required under the self-service exception because XYZ set up the main aisleway so as to require customers to walk down the aisle in an effort to promote impulse shopping. Thus, plaintiff argued for an extension of the self-help exception to include a store’s main aisles. The court refused to do so and granted summary judgment to XYZ.

Joel E. Wright and Marc Rosenberg won dismissal of all claims against their client, a California law firm, in In re Benedict. Plaintiffs brought a class action against numerous defendants alleging violations of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Act and Consumer Protection Act, wrongful foreclosure, and securities fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Joel and Marc successfully moved for dismissal for their client on the basis that the federal court in Washington lacked jurisdiction over the California firm.

Steven G. Wraith and Peter E. Sutherland won a defense verdict in Central Park Tennis Club v. Emerald Paving, a construction-defect case, in King County Superior Court. The plaintiff tennis club sought more than $250,000 to replace five outdoor tennis courts, alleging that Emerald Paving had breached its contract and an implied warranty of design in its repair of the tennis courts in 2003. Plaintiff’s expert claimed that Emerald inadequately compacted the asphalt and unnecessarily placed an impermeable layer of geotexile fabric below the surface, which caused water that leaked through the surface to become trapped under the asphalt. This trapped water, through freezing and evaporation cycles, caused the asphalt to crack prematurely. The defendants successfully proved that the cracking was minimal and superficial and did not affect all five courts, and the courts required resurfacing because of normal usage. The jury returned a verdict in Emerald’s favor, finding that Emerald had breached no implied warranty of design in its repair of the tennis courts.

David L. Martin and Jennifer R. Porto won summary judgment on behalf of their client, a pharmacy, which allegedly failed to warn a customer of possible drug interactions. The plaintiff was prescribed two medications by her physician and the pharmacy filled both prescriptions. After taking the prescribed medications for a period of time the plaintiff became ill and claimed that the illness was as a result of the failure of the pharmacy to inform her of the complications of taking the two medications together. However, the plaintiff provided no medical testimony supporting that her illness was caused by the pharmacy’s alleged failure to warn. The court agreed that plaintiff failed as a matter of law to prove causation and dismissed the action with prejudice.

The Lee Smart Quarterly is a publication of the law offices of Lee Smart, P.S., Inc. for clients and others. It is intended as general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have any specific legal questions.

Editor: Jeffrey P. Downer	Eml: jpd@leesmart.com
Phone: 206.621.3482	Toll Free: 877.624.7990