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Wintersteen v. Food Lion Inc.6/14/1999
tance cases involving storekeepers, however, the theory of liability urged by Wintersteen has been expressly rejected.
In Simmons v. Winn-Dixie Greenville, Inc., 318 S.C. 310, 457 S.E.2d 608 (1995), a plaintiff who fell on a grape contended that she should not be required to establish that the defendant had actual or constructive notice of the presence of the grape on the floor. Instead, the plaintiff argued that, because of the number of slip and fall incidents involving grapes in Winn-Dixie's retail stores, a question of liability was created "based upon an inherently dangerous condition and foreseeable risk of harm." Id. at 311, 457 S.E.2d 609. The Supreme Court rejected this argument with little Discussion, stating only that " e decline to expand the established standard requiring notice, either actual or constructive, by a store owner in slip and fall cases." Id.
In Bessinger v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 329 S.C. 617, 496 S.E.2d 33 (Ct. App. 1998), this Court also rejected a theory of liability quite similar to the theory urged by Wintersteen. In Bessinger, the plaintiff slipped and fell on grapes near the checkout line. The plaintiff contended that the grapes had fallen out of a vented bag in a grocery cart. Id. at 619, 496 S.E.2d at 34. Although the plaintiff did not present any evidence that the grocery store had actual or constructive knowledge of the grapes on the floor, she argued that the grocery store should nonetheless be held liable because the store's "method of displaying grapes in vented bags was negligent and created a dangerous condition." Id. Relying on Simmons, this Court rejected the plaintiff's theory of liability and affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant. Id. at 620, 496 S.E.2d at 34-35.
In light of Simmons and Bessinger, we conclude that a storekeeper cannot be held liable for injuries caused by falling on a foreign substance absent proof of the storekeeper's actual or constructive knowledge of the presence of the foreign substance, even if the storekeeper's own actions increased the likelihood that a foreign substance would fall on the floor. In this case, Food Lion's actions in positioning the drink machine and failing to put a mat in front of the machine may well have increased the likelihood that ice or liquids would fall on the floor. Nevertheless, because Wintersteen failed to present any evidence that Food Lion had actual or constructive notice of the presence of the liquid in which she fell, the trial court erred by denying Food Lion's motions for a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict. See, e.g., Strange v. South Carolina Dep't of Highways & Public Transp., 314 S.C. 427, 429-30, 445 S.E.2d 439, 440 (S.C. 1994) ("In ruling on motions for directed verdict and JNOV, the trial court is required to view the evidence and the inferences that reasonably can be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motions and to deny the motions where either the evidence yields more than one inference or its inference is in doubt. The trial court can only be reversed by this Court when there is no evidence to support the ruling below.") (citation omitted).
Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the jury's verdict in favor of Wintersteen is hereby
REVERSED.
GOOLSBY and CONNOR, JJ., concur.
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