Harper v. First Nat. Bank of Kansas City, Mo.

• Decision Date: 08 July 1946
• Docket Number: No. 39626.,39626.
• Parties: HARPER v. FIRST NAT. BANK OF KANSAS CITY, MO.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

196 S.W.2d 265

HARPER v. FIRST NAT. BANK OF KANSAS CITY, MO.

No. 39626.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

July 8, 1946.

Rehearing Denied September 9, 1946.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County, Division No. 8; Paul A. Buzard, Judge.

Action by Nancy P. Harper against the First National Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly resulting from a fall on defendant's floor. From the judgment, the plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed.

William G. Boatright and Roscoe C. Van Valkenburgh, both of Kansas City (Miller, Sheffrey & Van Valkenburgh, of Kansas City, of counsel), for appellant.

John G. Madden, Ralph M. Russell, and Madden Freeman Madden & Burke, all of Kansas City, for respondent.

BRADLEY, Commissioner.

Action to recover $50,000 for personal injuries resulting from a fall on defendant's floor. At the close of plaintiff's case the trial court sustained defendant's motion for a directed verdict, and plaintiff appealed.

Defendant's motion for a directed verdict raised two questions: (1) Was defendant negligent as plaintiff claimed? and (2) Was plaintiff guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law?

Negligence is alleged as follows:

(a) "Defendant negligently and carelessly maintained the office of its assistant cashier (Miss Haines) in charge of its women's department on a platform without maintaining any guard rail or gate at the entrance to said platform, although it knew that said office space on said platform was so small and so arranged that customers and patrons of defendant would normally stand or be seated in such a manner that said entrance would be behind them or to their side in such close proximity that by making a single movement of stepping to the rear or to the side, they would fall off of said platform.

(b) "Defendant negligently and carelessly maintained the office of its assistant cashier in charge of its women's department on a platform with a floor covering of a dark material except a strip six or eight inches wide at the entrance to said platform of marble of a light color which under the artificial lighting maintained by defendant, blended into the general appearance of the marble lobby floor immediately beneath so that one unfamiliar with the arrangement would be liable to mistake the strip of light colored marble at the edge of the entrance to said platform for the marble of the lobby floor and thereby lose their balance and fall to the lobby floor.

(c) "Defendant's assistant cashier in charge of its women's department, after having invited plaintiff and her sister who had accompanied her to defendant's bank, to enter said office located on said platform, arranged the chairs in which plaintiff and her sister were to sit, and negligently and carelessly placed the chair on which she invited and requested plaintiff to sit with its back or side in such close proximity to the entrance to said platform, and failed to warn plaintiff of the dangerous position of said chair, so that when plaintiff arose to depart and before she had taken as much as one step, she was caused to fall off said platform onto the lobby floor."

Plaintiff, 65 years old at the time she fell, was a customer of defendant bank and had been for 13 years. On July 9, 1943, her sister, Mrs. Berry, came from Indiana to Kansas City, to make her home with plaintiff, and on July 12, plaintiff, Mrs. Berry, and another sister, Mrs. Davis, went to defendant bank, plaintiff to make a deposit and to aid her sister, Mrs. Berry, who desired to open an account with defendant; that is, to arrange to transfer her funds from an Indiana bank to defendant bank. Defendant bank is on the northeast corner of 10th and Baltimore, Kansas City. The main entrance is on 10th street, and the three sisters entered the bank at the 10th street entrance, which faces south.

Miss Winifred Haines was in charge of the women's department of defendant bank, and for 5 or 6 years plaintiff had been doing her banking business in this department and was acquainted with Miss Haines, whose office was in the southeast corner of the lobby floor. Upon entering the bank, plaintiff made a deposit; Mrs. Davis transacted whatever business she had and went away. Plaintiff and Mrs. Berry then went to Miss Haines' office to make arrangements for Mrs. Berry's account. Although plaintiff had known Miss Haines for 5 or 6 years, she had not been in her office. The bank floor is of white marble; Miss Haines' office is 9 feet, 3 inches east and west and 6 feet, 3 inches north and south, the floor of which is of marble, but of a darker color than the lobby floor or is covered with something darker, except the office step. The office floor is 6 inches above the level of the lobby floor. A marble counter is on the west and north of the office, bank walls are on the east and south. The office entrance, 2 feet and 8 inches in width, just an opening, no door, no guard rail, is at the east end of the north side. Miss Haines' flat top desk, 2 feet 10 inches in width, length not given, was, we infer, near the north counter, and the east end of the desk extended to a point near the west side of the opening into the office. Sitting at the desk Miss Haines faced north. There is a 6 inch marble step 2 feet, 8 inches in length at the entrance to the office. The step is 3¾ inches from the outside wall surface of the north counter. Whether this step is something separate from the marble floor of the office is not clear. A photograph in evidence would suggest that what is termed the step may be a part of the office floor, but of lighter color.

Plaintiff introduced her sister, Mrs. Berry, to Miss Haines at the west counter of the office. Miss Haines invited them in. They walked then to the entrance, and Mrs. Berry entered first. Miss Haines placed a chair for Mrs. Berry at the southeast corner of her desk, and one for plaintiff near but north of Mrs. Berry's chair. Plaintiff did not notice just where her chair was placed with reference to the outer edge of the step. Plaintiff and her sister occupied these chairs for the 15 or 20 minutes it took to arrange for Mrs. Berry's account and for a few minutes friendly conversation upon the completion of the business matter. When the friendly conversation ended, the three women rose about the same time. Plaintiff, on arising from her chair, was facing west or partly southwest. Plaintiff, on direct examination, testified: "I arose just as any normal person would rise to their feet. I just rose up like this (indicating) and started to turn my body to the right to look in the direction that I was to go. I just turned this way (indicating) to take this first step and I stepped right off into space. My right foot went off. As I stepped off I just fell on my right side, my arm was under me and just fell right over...