Robinson v. Kroger Co

In Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735, 748-749 (2) (b) (493 S.E.2d 403) (1997), the Supreme Court of Georgia explained: When an invitee explains that he was not looking at the location of the hazard which caused injury because of something in the control of the owner/occupier, which purported distraction is of such a nature that the defendant might have anticipated that it would divert an invitee's attention, e.g., the conduct of a store employee, the premises construction or configuration, or a merchandise display of such a nature that its presence would not have been anticipated by the invitee, the invitee has presented "some evidence that (the invitee) exercised reasonable care for (the invitee's) own safety. . . .'" It will then be for the fact-finder to determine if the injury sustained was proximately caused by the defendant's negligence and whether the plaintiff failed to exercise reasonable care for personal safety. Id. at 746. The Supreme Court held that the "routine" issues of premises liability, i.e., the negligence of the defendant and the plaintiff, and the plaintiff's lack of ordinary care for personal safety are generally not susceptible of summary adjudication. . . . The issue is whether, taking into account all the circumstances existing at the time and place of the fall, the invitee exercised the prudence the ordinarily careful person would use in a like situation. Id. at 748 The Supreme Court of Georgia reiterated that: in order to recover for injuries sustained in a slip-and-fall action, an invitee must prove: (1) that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard; and (2) that the plaintiff lacked knowledge of the hazard despite the exercise of ordinary care due to actions or conditions within the control of the owner/occupier. Robinson also lightened the evidentiary load placed upon slip-and- fall plaintiffs opposing a motion for summary judgment by requiring a defendant to produce evidence showing negligence on the part of the plaintiff before the plaintiff is required to produce rebuttal evidence on this issue. Id. at 748.