Harrison v. Legacy Hous., LP
| Citation | 324 F.Supp.3d 1288 |
| Decision Date | 30 March 2018 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION No. 5:16-CV-199 (CAR) |
| Parties | David Shannon HARRISON and Courtney Gabrielle Harrison, Plaintiffs, v. LEGACY HOUSING, LP, GPLH, LC and John Doe Corporations 1-3, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Georgia |
Ben F. Windham, Stockbridge, GA, for Plaintiffs.
M. Elizabeth Googe, David Frank Root, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants.
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Plaintiff David Shannon Harrison filed this premises liability action seeking damages for injuries he sustained after he fell off of a ladder inside a warehouse owned by Defendant Legacy Housing, LP, GPLH, LC ("Legacy"). His wife, Plaintiff Courtney Gabrielle Harrison, asserts a related loss of consortium claim. Presently before the Court is Legacy's Motion for Summary Judgment. Having carefully considered the parties' arguments, the record, and applicable law, the Court finds no genuine issues of material fact exist as to Plaintiffs' claims. Thus, Legacy's Motion [Doc. 28] is GRANTED .
Summary judgment is proper if the movant "shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."1 Not all factual disputes render summary judgment inappropriate; only a genuine issue of material fact will defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment.2 This means that summary judgment may be granted if there is insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party or, in other words, if reasonable minds could not differ as to the verdict.3
On summary judgment, the Court must view the evidence and all justifiable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party; the Court may not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence.4 The moving party "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact" and that entitle it to a judgment as a matter of law.5 If the moving party discharges this burden, the burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to respond by setting forth specific evidence in the record and articulating the precise manner in which that evidence creates a genuine issue of material fact or that the moving party is not entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.6 This evidence must consist of more than mere conclusory allegations or legal conclusions.7
"Where [ ] evidence is circumstantial, a court may grant summary judgment when it concludes that no reasonable jury may infer from the assumed facts the conclusion upon which the non-movant's claim rests."8 "A court need not permit a case to go to a jury [ ] when the inferences that are drawn from the evidence, and upon which the non-movant relies, are ‘implausible.’ "9
Under Georgia law, "[i]n routine cases of premises of 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, and summary judgment is granted only when the evidence is plain, palpable, and undisputed."10 However, proof of a fall on one's premises, without more, does not give rise to liability.11 There must be some fault on the part of the premises owner.12
For purposes of this Motion, the material facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the non-movant, are as follows:
Defendant Legacy Housing, LP ("Legacy") is a mobile-home manufacturing business based in Fort Worth, Texas. In September 2015, Legacy purchased property and buildings in Eatonton, Georgia formerly owned by Horton Homes, a mobile-home manufacturing business that shut down in 2015. In addition to manufacturing mobile homes, Horton Homes also operated a molding and laminating division of its company called "Horton Components." The laminating process is a necessary component of manufacturing a mobile home.13 Howard Sneed was the production manager for Horton Components, and Mark Johnson was a salesman for Horton Components. Both Mr. Sneed and Mr. Johnson lost their jobs when Horton Homes went out of business. Legacy did not acquire Horton's molding and laminating division or its laminating equipment in the purchase of Horton Homes.
After Legacy acquired the deed to Horton Homes' manufacturing facilities in late 2015, Mr. Sneed called Curtis Hodgson, one of Legacy's co-owners, to inquire about Legacy's interest in setting up a molding and laminating division in one of its newly-acquired warehouses in Eatonton. Sneed hoped he and Johnson could continue the laminating work they had done with Horton Homes.14 Sneed's intent was to start a partnership with Legacy, not to be employed by Legacy.15 In late December, Sneed and Johnson flew to Texas and met with Mr. Hodgson to discuss a potential business arrangement with Legacy. Because Mr. Johnson had opened his own picture frame business, Johnson and Hodgson mutually agreed Johnson would not be a part of the potential business relationship. However, Sneed and Hodgson continued discussions.
At that time, Legacy outsourced the molding and laminating for its mobile homes to third parties. Sneed proposed a business relationship whereby Legacy would provide the working capital and space for Sneed to establish his own laminating company, and Sneed would pay rent for the building and provide laminating materials for Legacy's mobile homes at a discounted price. The parties anticipated Legacy being a major customer of the laminating business but not the only customer. At that time, Sneed and Hodgson were not contemplating the laminating business being a division of Legacy or Sneed being an employee of Legacy.16 However, it is clear the business proposal anticipated Legacy buying the laminating equipment necessary for Sneed to start the business, and Legacy would benefit by receiving rent and discounted prices.
After their meeting in December, Sneed and Hodgson talked "once every week or so" about the equipment Sneed needed to start the laminating business. In late January 2016, Sneed began visiting the site of the potential laminating plant, a warehouse owned by Legacy known as the "green building." Horton Homes had used the green building to store carpet and electrical supplies on two long rows of shelving racks inside the building. Each shelving unit was approximately twelve feet tall with four levels of shelves.
On January 20, 2016, Sneed emailed Hodgson about his desire to take down some of the shelving in the green building to get a better view of the space. Sneed wrote, "when do you think I can bring someone in to help me tear down racks, build walls and other miscellaneous stuff that needs to be done[?]"17 Mr. Hodgson replied, 18
Although Johnson was no longer involved as a potential business partner with Legacy and Sneed in setting up and operating the laminating plant, Johnson continued to monitor the development of the laminating business with Sneed.
Plaintiff David Harrison19 and Johnson have been best friends for 30 years, and Plaintiff and Sneed knew of each other.20 Plaintiff had heard "there was talk of [Johnson] and [Sneed] opening a new plant, doing work like they had done at Horton Components—laminate and stuff like that."21 Plaintiff understood Sneed was partnering with Legacy, and Plaintiff had conversations with Johnson about "getting in on the ground level" of their business because he "knew there was some money to be made."22
On Wednesday, January 20th—the same day Sneed emailed Hodgson asking when he could bring someone in to help tear down the shelving units—Plaintiff, who had earlier been hunting with Johnson, rode with Johnson to the green building to see what Sneed was working on and "to listen and observe."23 "I think [the business] was all in such an infancy stage [ ] of what [Sneed and Johnson] wanted to do, they were throwing out where to put this [laminating] machinery and where to put that machinery, how to set [the building] up ... for the laminate molding operation that was being talked about."24 While Plaintiff was at the warehouse, Sneed discussed taking down the shelving; Sneed "just said [the shelving] needed to be taken down, no plans."25 Plaintiff and Johnson stayed no more than an hour and then left.26
The next evening, Thursday January 21st, Johnson told Plaintiff during a telephone conversation that Sneed had secured a forklift to take down the shelving in the green building. "So somewhere in the conversation between me [Plaintiff] and [Johnson] it was decided to go out there [the next day] to help [Sneed] take down the shelving."27 Johnson 28 Plaintiff told Johnson when he "got through doing [some] business, [Plaintiff] would meet up with him and help him out."29 Plaintiff made no arrangements with Sneed to help dismantle the shelving.30
On Friday, January 22nd, Plaintiff finished his personal business, ate some lunch, and drove to the green building. When he arrived around noon, Johnson and Sneed were already in the building working on dismantling the shelving. Johnson and Sneed "told [Plaintiff] what the game plan was as far as taking the shelving down and what they were doing."31 The shelving consisted of vertical and horizontal slats. The vertical slats were bolted to the floor at the bottom. To dismantle the units, the men used a hammer to "pop" out the horizontal slats first and then remove the vertical slats. After...
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