American Multi-Cinema Inc. v. Brown (S08G1934) - Trip & Fall; Premises Liability
On Christmas Day 2003, the AMC movie theater at Southlake Mall was very busy. Just a few minutes before a packed movie theater let out, an AMC employee set up a "Wet Floor" sign over a small spill just outside the auditorium door. Nancy Sue Brown was walking in the middle of the crowd as she exited the theater. By the time she reached the sign, it had fallen over and was lying on the floor. Brown's vision was obscured by the crowd and she tripped over the sign and fell to the floor, seriously injuring her back. Brown sued AMC to recover for her injuries.
An owner or occupier of land has a legal duty to "exercise ordinary care to keep and maintain its premises in a condition that does not pose an unreasonable risk of foreseeable harm to the invited public." Simply setting up a "Wet Floor" sign to mark a spill does not necessarily satisfy this duty. If the presence of the crowd obscured the sign, rendering it ineffective as a warning device, AMC may be liable. Brown produced expert testimony that the type of sign AMC used collapses easily and proved there were safer and readily available alternatives AMC could have used to address the spill. Furthermore, AMC employees placed the sign in an area they knew would be inundated with patrons.
If the jury determines the sign did not serve its proper purpose as a warning device, it will have to determine whether AMC should have foreseen that the sign, as it was placed, might create a tripping hazard to a customer.
This is certainly an unusual case.
