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Erica Durhamv.Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. Et Al.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A21A0624
DecidedJune 23, 2021
Reporter301 Ga. App. 430
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CivilTort LawPremises LiabilityNegligenceJury InstructionsJury SelectionReversal
Case Summary

Erica Durham sued Dollar Tree and its floor-care contractor after slipping on a wet spot in a Georgia store. A jury found the defendants negligent but assigned Durham 50 percent of the fault, reducing her damages to zero under Georgia’s comparative-fault statute. Durham moved for a new trial, challenging the apportionment instruction and the trial court’s handling of a juror who fell asleep. The Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed the denial of a new trial and remanded for further proceedings. The majority held that the apportionment charge was incomplete because it did not explain that a party must be more than 50 percent responsible before recovering damages, and that Durham did not waive the issue by failing to object after the charge. A separate opinion disagreed about waiver and would have addressed the sleeping-juror issue differently.

Opinion

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