Page v. Biloxi Reg'l Med. Ctr


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Docket Number: 2010-CA-01748-COA

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 06-05-2012
Opinion Author: Roger T. Clark
Holding: Affirmed.

Additional Case Information: Topic: Personal injury - Premises liability - Invitee - Duty of reasonable care - Spoliation of evidence
Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving, P.J., Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton, Maxwell, Russell and Fair, JJ.
Procedural History: Summary Judgment
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 09-23-2010
Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court
Judge: HON. ROGER T. CLARK
Disposition: SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTED IN FAVOR OF APPELLEE
Case Number: A-2402-08-87

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: Jerry Page and Glenda Page




MARK D. LUMPKIN



 

Appellee: Biloxi Regional Medical Center STEPHEN GILES PERESICH JOHANNA MALBROUGH MCMULLAN  

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Topic: Personal injury - Premises liability - Invitee - Duty of reasonable care - Spoliation of evidence

Summary of the Facts: Jerry Page filed suit against Biloxi Regional Medical Center for personal injuries arising out of a negligence claim. The court granted summary judgment in favor of BRMC. Page appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: An invitee is a person who goes upon the premises of another in answer to the express or implied invitation of the owner or occupant for their mutual advantage. A landowner owes a business invitee a duty of reasonable care for the invitee’s safety. Landowners must keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. They have a duty to warn of known dangerous conditions, which are not readily apparent but would have been discovered by reasonable inspection of the premises. It is undisputed that Page was an invitee who was owed a duty of reasonable care. However, Page has not raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether BRMC breached its duty. The only facts Page offers in support of his claim is that he fell out of the chair and that the chair was bent after his fall. The sole fact of the chair breaking simply is not enough to show negligence. Page argues that the circuit court should have specifically addressed the spoliation issue in its order, contending that spoliation of evidence created a negative inference that the chair in question was broken prior to his sitting in it. However, a negative inference is only proper when a defendant intentionally or through gross negligence discards evidence that is the subject of litigation. Though Page’s complaint alleges that BRMC was grossly negligent, he does not set forth any facts to support his allegation. Had Page obtained the chair during the discovery process, it is very unlikely an examination of the chair would have conclusively proven that it was broken before his fall. Moreover, even if the chair was broken before Page sat in it, he still failed to show BRMC had notice of the defect or failed to inspect the chair. Therefore, because Page failed to present evidence showing that BRMC breached its duty of reasonable care, he is unable to establish negligence, making the defectiveness of the chair and the spoliation of evidence irrelevant.


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