Gerald Bren, Jennifer Olson, and Dan Berlinger secured a summary judgement win in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District, on behalf of a retail store. The case involved plaintiff’s claim that she sustained personal injury after allegedly slipping (she did not fall) on a slippery, slimy substance on the floor.
Judge Strand found summary judgment appropriate, because there was no evidence that the retail store had actual or constructive notice of the substance. The Court examined surveillance footage surrounding the incident, which depicted others walking through the same area without incident. She noted that the retail store’s employees cleaned up the alleged substance within one minute of plaintiff slipping. She further found there was no evidence in the record of the source of the slippery substance on the floor, how long the substance had been on the floor, and no evidence the retailer knew or should have known of the presence of the slippery substance.