Boykin v. Mr. Tidy Car Wash, Inc., 87-226

• Decision Date: 21 December 1987
• Docket Number: No. 87-226,87-226
• Citation: Boykin v. Mr. Tidy Car Wash, Inc., 294 Ark. 182, 741 S.W.2d 270 (Ark. 1987)
• Parties: Herman BOYKIN, Appellant, v. MR. TIDY CAR WASH, INC., Appellee.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 270

741 S.W.2d 270

294 Ark. 182

Herman BOYKIN, Appellant, v. MR. TIDY CAR WASH, INC., Appellee.

No. 87-226.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Dec. 21, 1987.

Lynn A. Davis, Little Rock, for appellant.

Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, Little Rock, for appellee.

GLAZE, Justice.

This is an appeal from the granting of a directed verdict to the appellee in a slip and fall case. The appellant raises only one issue: the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict to the appellee. We agree, and therefore reverse and remand.

On March 28, 1986, appellant went to appellee's place of business, a full service car wash. As is the custom of this type of car wash, appellant turned over his car to the employees for them to run it through the wash rack. After he saw that the employees were finished with his car, he exited the waiting room by stepping out of the door and off of the curb. Appellant fell and was apparently unable to stand due to pain from an injury to his knee, which later required surgery. Contending that he slipped and fell on soapy water, appellant filed suit against the appellees to recover for medical expenses resulting from this injury. After appellant presented his case, the trial judge granted the appellee's motion for directed verdict, holding that the appellant's evidence was too speculative.

In addressing the issue of whether a directed verdict should have been granted, this court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the verdict is sought and give it the highest probative value, taking into account all reasonable inferences deducible from it. Green v. Gowen, 279 Ark. 382, 652 S.W.2d 624 (1983). The motion should be granted only if there is no substantial evidence to support a jury verdict. Id. This court has held that where the evidence is such that fair minded people might have different conclusions, then a jury question is presented and the directed verdict should be reversed. See Stalter v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 282 Ark. 443, 669 S.W.2d 460 (1984).

Appellant's burden of proof to prevail in a slip and fall case is set out in AMI Civil 2d, 1105. To establish a violation of the appellee's duty to use ordinary care to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, appellant must show either: 1) that the presence of the substance upon the premises was the result of negligence on the part of the appellee, or 2) that the substance had been on the premises for such a length of time that appellee knew or reasonably should have known of its presence and failed to use ordinary care to remove it. See also Safeway Stores, Inc. v. Willmon, 289 Ark. 14, 708 S.W.2d 623 (1986); Skaggs Companies, Inc. v. White, 289 Ark. 434, 711 S.W.2d 819 (1986). In Willmon, we said that the mere fact a patron slips and falls in a store does not raise an inference of negligence, and we further indicated that a jury may not be left to speculate concerning the origin or source of the "foreign substance" which caused the fall. By his complaint and his arguments at trial and on appeal, appellant makes it clear that he is trying to prevail by showing that the presence of the soapy water by...