Williams, Faith v. Jamey Vance d/b/a Chick-fil-A at Saxon Boulevard

Terry D. Dixon (DeLand) (Premises Liability) obtained a Defense Verdict in the case Williams, Faith v. Jamey Vance d/b/a Chick-fil-A at Saxon Boulevard. Plaintiff alleged that after entering Chick-fil-A on her way to the women’s restroom, she slipped and fell in a large puddle of water.  The Plaintiff claimed that as a result of the fall, she sustained an injury to her right knee and lower back. Her medical bills totaled over $22,000 and Plaintiff had filed a Proposal for Settlement in the amount of $22,900, to which Chick-fil-A offered $0. During trial, the Plaintiff attempted to paint a picture of the owner/operator as being profit driven over safety as many employees passed over the area where the Plaintiff slipped and fell without looking or inspecting the area.  Chick-fil-A countered by showing that the employees were following policies and procedures by cleaning different areas of the restaurant throughout the day, including the area where the Plaintiff fell 30 minutes prior to her fall. Chick-fil-A also asserted that when the owner/operator checked the floor in the area where the Plaintiff fell immediately after her fall, there was no liquid on the floor. However, the Plaintiff argued that claim was inconsistent with the evidence because the owner/operator then put down a wet floor sign, had the area dry mopped and then wet mopped. The Plaintiff also pointed to a segment of video footage prior to the Plaintiff’s fall that appeared to show a customer tipping her cup in a manner that was consistent with spelling something on the floor. Said customer then look down at the floor, prior to walking off. However, Chick-fil-A asked the jury to continue to follow the lady in the video and as she came closer to the camera it was clear that the customer had a lid on her cup. Chick-fil-A was also able to show that throughout the 30 minutes prior to the Plaintiff falling there were numerous customers who walked through the area without any difficulty. After hearing all the evidence, the jury was out for one hour and returned with a defense verdict finding that Chick-fil-A was not negligent.