164 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Negligence"'.
J. Lee finds that there was spoliation of evidence in this personal injury lawsuit alleging that an apartment tenant was burned due to the temperature of the water in the bathtub, after a repairman had worked on the hot water heater. Specifically, the "rotational limit stop" device on the faucet was adjusted after the alleged burn incident, without the defendant company's "knowledge or presence." However, the proposed sanctions "all go too far." Accordingly, the parties should confer and propose a limiting jury instruction.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Tennessee , Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv273, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, Landlord Tenant, negligence
J. Marbley denies, in part, the hotel's motion to dismiss, ruling that while it may not have had an overt agreement with the human traffickers who kept the victim at its property, its failure to institute policies to discourage or prevent sex trafficking is sufficient at this stage to be considered willful negligence and grants the victim standing under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Marbley, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv3185, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: evidence, negligence
J. Spain finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the nursing assistant on her claims for negligence and premises liability stemming from an employment-related injury that occurred as she tried to transfer a bariatric patient by herself. The nursing facility's Rule 306a motion in which it sought "to reset postjudgment deadlines" was correctly denied. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Spain, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 14-22-00190-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, evidence, negligence
J. Gray finds that the trial court improperly granted summary judgment on the assault and battery claim in the parents' wrongful death suit over the death of their daughter from a gunshot wound to the head, which was ruled a suicide. The parents disagree and think their daughter's husband intentionally killed her. There was sufficient evidence "for reasonable minds to differ in their conclusion" as to how the decedent sustained her fatal injury. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Gray, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 10-23-00039-CV, Categories: evidence, negligence, Wrongful Death
J. Loken finds a lower court properly dismissed a male driver's negligence claims against a female driver, who was granted summary judgment. The male driver argued that the lower court erred in excluding his physician's expert disclosures. However, the female driver presented sufficient evidence in court that the male driver failed to submit a expert's report, and that the expert physician's opinion was not "formed during the course of treatment." Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-3335, Categories: evidence, negligence, Experts
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J. Underhill denies the department store's motion for summary judgment, ruling that disputes of fact regarding whether a t-shaped metal hook on the floor caused the shopper to fall must be decided by a jury. Furthermore, surveillance footage that showed the hook was there for at least an hour prior to the accident would allow a reasonable jury to determine the store had notice of the condition and should have picked up the hook.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Underhill, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1733, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, negligence, Premises Liability
J. Erickson finds a lower court improperly ruled in favor of a female campus security officer who claimed deliberate indifference against a group of college board of trustees. The female campus security officer argued that the college board of trustees failed to timely investigate her allegations. However, the board of trustees presented sufficient evidence in court that it promptly initiated an investigation into the matter, which justifies an award of attorney's fees on its behalf. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Erickson, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: 22-1814, Categories: evidence, negligence, Attorney Fees
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly dismissed a drug trial participant's negligence claims against a pharmaceutical research company. The drug trial participant, who was compensated for his partaking, argued that the pharmaceutical research company failed to prevent him from contracting hepatitis C. However, the research company provided sufficient evidence in court that he participated in numerous trials on behalf of other companies, where he had his blood drawn at least 31 times. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-1375, Categories: evidence, Health Care, negligence
J. Osowik finds the lower court properly granted the home furnishings store's motion for summary judgment in a personal injury case. The injured shopper provided no evidence any of the shelving units she claimed fell and injured her were unlocked or otherwise improperly constructed at the time of the accident. In any case, even if the shelving units had been unlocked, the shopper presents no direct evidence an employee of the store was the one who improperly constructed them. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Osowik, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2798, Categories: evidence, negligence, Premises Liability
J. Thrash finds in favor of the moving company in a negligence action brought by the driver arising from a car collision but denies the companies' motion for evidence spoliation sanctions. The driver failed to present evidence which would create an issue of fact as to the moving company's liability. Dismissal is not a proper sanction for the totaling of the driver's vehicle after it was involved in a subsequent collision. The companies are also not entitled to an award of fees for their accident reconstruction expert. The companies' motion for summary judgment is granted as to the driver's negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision claims but denied as to the negligence and imputed liability claims.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Thrash, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv628, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: evidence, Sanctions, negligence
J. Talwani denies summary judgment to a homeowner hosting an estate sale on her argument that a visitor, who was injured when she fell down a step in an “off limits” family room, was more than 50% responsible for her accident and therefore barred from recovery. While the homeowner correctly describes the effect of Massachusetts’s comparative negligence statute, her assertion is premised on the disputed claim that her couch, pillows and tape effectively blocked the space between the hallway and family room.
Court: USDC Massachusetts, Judge: Talwani, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv11656, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, Damages, negligence
J. Coleman finds the lower court improperly reversed the decision of a trial court. A police officer responding to an emergency call for a rollover collision was involved in a crash at an intersection. The driver of the vehicle that was struck filed suit on behalf of herself and her minor child who were both injured in the collision. The lower court found that the officer had acted with reckless disregard, but the trial court found that he did not; the instant court sides with the trial court, finding that sufficient evidence was presented to support its decision. Reversed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Coleman, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 2021-CT-00639-SCT, Categories: evidence, Tort, negligence
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly dismissed an estate administrator's negligence claims against a railroad company. The estate administrator argued that the railway company forced her now deceased husband to come into contact with diesel exhaust, silica dust, and asbestos, which resulted in cancer. However, expert witnesses who submitted testimony in court failed to sufficiently show that his cancer was the direct cause of exposure. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes , Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 21-3366, Categories: Employment, evidence, negligence
J. Attrep finds a lower court erred in allowing a jury to convict defendant of child abuse despite insufficient evidence. The jury rejected prosecutors’ “principal theory” that defendant had directly injured her son and instead settled on an “alternative” theory that she had allowed her son to be abused by leaving him with her boyfriend, who had initially reported the alleged abuse. But there is insufficient evidence for this alternate theory as well, and in fact at trial prosecutors “attempted to convince the jury that the boyfriend did not harm” the child. Reversed.
Court: New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge: Attrep, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: A-1-CA-39691, Categories: evidence, Child Victims, negligence
J. Spain finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the metal facility in a truck driver's negligence suit alleging that his injuries from a slip and fall stemmed from the overloading of his truck by its employees. The truck driver did not sufficiently plead a premises liability claim or give evidence raising a fact issue on his negligent activity claim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Spain, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 14-22-00130-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, evidence, negligence
J. Rose denies Walmart's motion for summary judgment, ruling the issue of foreseeability regarding the shopper's injuries must be decided by a jury. A reasonable person would assume there was a risk of injury when the employee shoved a TV box from one side of the shopper's car to the other while the shopper was partially inside the vehicle. Additionally, questions of fact as to whether the shopper asked for assistance or Walmart volunteered to assist her with the TV box also preclude judgment because they will ultimately determine whether Walmart owed her a duty of care.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Rose, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv282, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, negligence
J. Greene finds that the trial court improperly sided with the restaurant owner in a suit brought by two patrons who allegedly got sick from eating fried oysters. The owner's excerpts from purported medical records are not admissible for summary judgment purposes, so the evidence does not resolve the issue regarding the identity of the restaurant where the patrons allegedly became sick. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Greene, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 2022CA1130, Categories: Civil Procedure, evidence, negligence
J. Bourliot finds that the trial court properly awarded the auto upholstery business $5.8 million in its suit against the electric utility over a fire that caused significant property damage. The utility's jurisdictional challenge is without merit, and the evidence supports the finding that its negligent maintenance of an electrical transformer caused the fire. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Bourliot, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 14-20-00250-CV, Categories: evidence, Damages, negligence
J. Partida-Kipness finds that the lower court improperly granted summary judgment against the appellant on his Dram Shop claim, which stems from a car collision. The evidence sufficiently raised an issue of fact as to whether a driver was "obviously intoxicated" when he was served alcohol at the defendant restaurant. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Partida-Kipness, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: 05-21-00988-CV, Categories: evidence, Tort, negligence
J. Smith finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life in prison after he was found guilty on charges of distributing a controlled substance which resulted in the death of a customer, who was also a college friend. The defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to justify his conviction. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court via surveillance video that his customer died after ingesting fentanyl provided to him by the defendant at a casino. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22-1561, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, Criminal negligence
J. Thompson finds that the trial court should not have denied a casino's motion for summary judgment on a trip and fall claim, in which a patron tripped over a wheel stop in the casino parking lot. While the photos of the wheel stop show that it was close to the passenger side door of the patron's car, the photos also show that the patron's daughter improperly parked in the loading zone. Further, the wheel stop was apparent because it was painted yellow and set within a loading zone having white and blue stripes. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Thompson, Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 55,064-CW, Categories: evidence, negligence
Per curiam, the appellate court finds that the trial court should not have rendered a broad-brush judgment when it granted an injured gas station patron's motion for an adverse presumption based on spoliation of the evidence. The patron claimed that he struck his head on a piece of metal protruding from a post located behind the car vacuum cleaner. The patron concedes that the gas station's failure to preserve the video footage was unintentional because the gas station received the preservation notice after the time for recovering the footage would have already lapsed. However, the gas station removed the metal piece from its original location and, as a result, altered the configuration and placement of the protruding piece of metal as it appeared when the patron was injured. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 23-C-300 , Categories: evidence, negligence
Per curiam, the Louisiana court finds that the trial court should not have rendered a broad-brush judgment when it granted an injured gas station patron's motion for an adverse presumption based on spoliation of the evidence. The patron claimed that he struck his head on a piece of metal protruding from a post located behind the car vacuum cleaner. The patron concedes that the gas station's failure to preserve the video footage was unintentional because the gas station received the preservation notice after the time for recovering the video footage would have already lapsed. However, the gas station removed the metal piece from its original location and, as a result, altered the configuration and placement of the protruding piece of metal as it appeared when the patron was injured. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 23-C-294, Categories: evidence, negligence
J. McCallum finds that the court of appeal should not have reduced the general damages awarded to the minor victim of a sexual assault. The jury properly assessed the damages amount based on the victim being an eight-year-old special education student being sexually assaulted during a camp by a fourteen-year-old child who was on probation for aggravated sexual assault. The victim's father testified that the victim has not been the same since the incident, began to struggle with anger and "has a lot more negativity." Further, an expert testified that the victim was afraid, nervous, and anxious and has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the sexual assault. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: McCallum, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 2022-C-00961, Categories: evidence, Damages, negligence
J. Wicker finds that the trial court should not have found for a market on a customer's slip and fall claim. There is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the market caused the dangerous condition the customer slipped in. The customer admitted evidence that the market management was aware that liquid meat byproduct habitually leaked onto the floor. Further, the manager testified that leaking of meat juice was an ongoing issue and that she had seen "chicken juice drippings" on the floor of the store before the fall. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Wicker, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 22-CA-404, Categories: Civil Procedure, evidence, negligence