Pa201 Unit 3 Legal Research

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Case Brief PA 201 2014 Case Brief Thompson v. Economy Super Markets, Inc., 221 Ill.App3d 263 (1991). Facts: Cherryl E. Thompson, slipped and fell on a lettuce leaf and water. She did not notice the leaf prior or know how long it was there. The fall occurred two to three feet to the left of the produce aisle and that the fruits and vegetables were kept on ice. The plaintiff’s daughter stated that the lettuce leaf looked old and like it had been there awhile, but that she had been in the produce aisle once before the accident and did not see any water or a lettuce leaf on the floor prior to the plaintiff’s fall. David Schreiner and Rubin Amazan, store employees, did not witness the fall. They both stated that they did not see a lettuce leaf after inspecting the floor following the fall. Issue: Did the negligence of Economy Super Market cause the slip and fall of Ms. Thompson? Rule: A defendant owes a business invitee on the defendant’s premises a duty to exercise ordinary care in maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition. Ward v. K Mart Corp. 136 Ill.2d 132 (1990). Where a business invitee is injured by slipping on the premises, liability may be imposed on if the substance was placed there by the negligence of the proprietor or his servants, or, if the substance was on the premises through acts of third persons or there is no showing how it got there., liability may be imposed if it appears that the proprietor or his servant knew of its presence, or that the substance was there a sufficient length of time so that in the exercise of ordinary care its presence should have been discovered. Olinger v. Great Atlantic & Tea Co., 21 Ill.2d 469 (1961). Thus, where the foreign substance is on the premises due to the negligence of the proprietor or his servants, it is not necessary to establish their knowledge, actual or constructive; whereas, if the

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