All American Quality Foods, Inc.v.Britten
Bernice Britten sued a grocery store after falling while shopping, but she admitted she never saw what caused her fall and could identify no liquid or defect except for an unidentified bystander’s comment about water. The trial court denied summary judgment, and All American Quality Foods took an interlocutory appeal. The issues were whether Britten had evidence that a dangerous condition actually caused her fall and whether the store had superior knowledge of that condition. The Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed. It held that speculation about water on the floor, especially when Britten could not identify the cause herself and the video evidence showed employees later reacting to an ice pack leak, was not enough to create a triable causation issue. Without competent evidence tying the fall to a premises defect known to the store, the negligence claim could not survive summary judgment.
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