General Notice of Frequent Occurrence Not Sufficient to Show Actual Notice of Current Transitory Spill (PA)

In Karten v. Shop Rite the plaintiff claimed that she slipped and fell on some debris that was dark, slippery and smelled of rotten banana on the main walkway of the parking lot as she was leaving a Shop Rite grocery store.  The plaintiff sustained injuries to her knee, ankle and lower back, and filed suit for negligent maintenance of the premises.  Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the store had no actual or constructive notice of the spill.

In opposition to the motion, the plaintiff argued that the substance that caused her to fall constituted a dangerous condition of lasting duration.  Plaintiff further argued that Shop Rite had actual notice of a dangerous condition because it had received general complaints regarding debris near the parking lot garbage cans.  However, the Court found that general notice of a frequent occurrence was not sufficient to show actual notice of a current transitory spill.  The Court, in concluding that the substance amounted to a transitory spill, found no evidence of actual notice to the store of the banana’s presence, and concluded that a jury would have to resort to improper speculation.

In the alternative, plaintiff complained that Shop Rite failed to produce information regarding a store employee and the surveillance film of the incidence.  However, the Court found that the plaintiff manufactured these issues solely for the purpose of opposing summary judgment, as they were never pursued by the plaintiff within the discovery period.  Further, the Court found that the allegations in plaintiff’s opposition to summary judgment contradicted her prior pleadings and deposition testimony.

In granting summary judgment, the Court found that Pennsylvania law did not support the presumption that damaged debris served as sufficient circumstantial proof for the duration of a transitory spill, and concluded that the plaintiff failed to meet her burden of establishing constructive notice.  Therefore, summary judgment was granted in favor of Shop Rite.

Thanks to Alexandra Perry for her contribution to this post.