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Fredrickson v. Bertolino's Tacoma12/13/2005
Alan Fredrickson appeals a summary judgment dismissing his personal injury claim against Bertolino's coffee shop. Fredrickson alleges that he was injured when a chair he sat in at Bertolino's broke. The trial court granted summary judgment because Fredrickson presented no evidence that Bertolino's either actually or constructively knew the chair was defective. Fredrickson argues that because Bertolino's way of doing business created an ongoing danger of injury from old chairs, he was not required to prove knowledge. We disagree with Fredrickson and therefore affirm.
FACTS
Detective Alan Fredrickson purchased coffee at Bertolino's coffee shop. When he sat down at a table in the shop, the chair broke and gave way. Fredrickson claims that he was injured as a result.
At the time, William Easley owned and managed Bertolino's. When Easley purchased the coffee shop in 1995, the d`cor consisted of antique-looking, mismatched, wooden tables, chairs, and book cases. Easley maintained that aesthetic after he became the owner.
Easley considered himself an active manager. He testified that he arrived at the shop at 5:00 a.m. each day, seven days a week, 'to make sure everything was working, whether it was the equipment or the chairs.' Clerk's Papers (CP) at 33. Over the course of a week, he would inspect each chair, focusing on the ones he knew were questionable or 'were going in the direction of needing to be thrown out or fixed.' CP at 38. He also tested the chairs by sitting in them. Sometimes customers told him when chairs were wobbly or needed to be fixed; although no customer before Fredrickson had ever complained of being injured by a chair. Between the time Easley purchased the shop in 1995 and Fredrickson's fall in 2001, Easley received about three complaints concerning chairs.
Easley asserts that when a wobbly or unstable chair came to his attention, he would immediately fix it or throw it away and replace it with another. He generally purchased replacement chairs at garage sales and antique shops, and sometimes at Fred Meyer's. Easley repaired broken chairs himself because he was 'accustomed to woodwork.' CP at 33. He owned a construction business and occasionally built houses in the afternoons while managing Bertolino's in the mornings. Easley estimated that he threw away four chairs a year and that he repaired another four to five a year.
Sarah Erickson, a Bertolino's barista, stated:
{B}ased upon my best recollection of the day, my knowledge of our everyday customer traffic patterns and the habit and routine of Bertolino's service and care of its employees, I know one or more persons sat at that location that morning before the plaintiff sat there. I observed no one having difficulties with any of our chairs that morning, nor did anyone complain about the condition of the chair the plaintiff broke.
CP at 22.
Brooke Giesbrecht, another Bertolino's employee, witnessed the incident while working at a computer near the chair that broke. Giesbrecht was certain that someone sat in the chair before Fredrickson sat in it. She also asserts,
{a}lthough Bertolino's has antique-looking chairs, the coffee shop took good care of them. I often observed Willie Easley inspecting the chairs. I even recall him disposing of a couple of chairs when they became too rickety. I also observed him bringing in chairs from his vehicle after repairing them.
CP at 25.
Fredrickson sued Bertolino's for negligently furnishing and maintaining its premises. Bertolino's moved for summary judgment, arguing that Fredrickson presented no evidence that (1) it had actual or constru
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