Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 20657
| Decision Date | 09 December 1963 |
| Docket Number | No. 20657,20657 |
| Citation | 153 Colo. 572,388 P.2d 758 |
| Parties | Esther C. HENNESY, Plaintiff in Error, v. TINA MARIE HOMES, INC., Defendant in Error. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Duane O. Littell and Ronald O. Sylling, Denver, for plaintiff in error.
January, Gilchrist & Blunk, Denver, for defendant in error.
Plaintiff in error was plaintiff in the trial court and will be referred to as plaintiff. Defendant in error was defendant and will be referred to as defendant.
Plaintiff brought the action to recover for personal injuries which she suffered as a result of a fall in a model 'show' home built and owned by the defendant. She alleged in her complaint that the fall was proximately caused by the negligence of the defendant. Defendant denied any negligence on its part and by way of further defense alleged that the proximate cause of the accident was the sole negligence of the plaintiff or the contributory negligence of the plaintiff.
The testimony relating to the cause of the fall was undisputed since the only evidence in the record with respect to that issue was adduced from two employees of the defendant and from a deposition of the plaintiff taken by the defendant and introduced by stipulation on behalf of the plaintiff. Trial was to a jury and at the close of the evidence the trial court granted a motion for a directed verdict in favor of the defendant on the ground that a prima facie case of negligence on the part of the defendant had not been made and that as a matter of law the negligence of the plaintiff was the proximate cause of the accident.
Judgment was thereupon entered in favor of the defendant and the plaintiff is here by writ of error.
The record discloses that on November 24, 1961 the plaintiff, her daughter, and son-in-law were looking at model houses in contemplation of purchasing a home. They entered the defendant's 'show' home through the front door and proceeded into the living room and from there into the kitchen. Adjacent to the kitchen was a family room with an opening from the kitchen approximately seven feet wide and with a six inch step-down from the kitchen to the family room. The step-down ran the entire width of the kitchen. The floor coloring in the kitchen was different from that of the family room.
While in the kitchen the plaintiff was looking at the built in cabinets there and was walking backward as she looked. While doing so, she backed over the step-down and fell, injuring...
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Vigil v. Franklin
...cases which illustrate the extensive case law on pre-premises liability statute landowner tort duties: Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 153 Colo. 572, 574-75, 388 P.2d 758, 759 (1963) (potential homebuyer that fell backwards on alleged open and obvious step-down from kitchen to family roo......
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Baltzelle v. Doces Sixth Ave., Inc.
...looking and placed herself in a position of danger so that she was herself to blame for the fall. They cite Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 153 Colo. 572, 388 P.2d 758 (1963), and Engdal v. Owl Drug Co., Supra, in support of this proposition. The trial court did not find that plaintiff f......
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Whitlock v. University of Denver, 83CA0136
...is tomake the university an insurer against every accident involving the trampoline that might occur. See Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 153 Colo. 572, 388 P.2d 758 (1963); Burchinal v. Gregory, Moreover, even if the university owed a duty to the plaintiff, I would hold that on these fa......
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Joynt v. California Hotel & Casino
...by the casino in support of its assertion involve hazards that were clearly obvious or marked. For instance, in Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 388 P.2d 758 (Colo.1963), the plaintiff, while walking backwards, fell down the interior steps of a model home during her inspection of the home......
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The Landowners' Liability Statute
...by Mile Hi Fence, supra, note 3. 12. Supra, note 4 at 419-28; Lunt, supra, note 11. 13. Id. See also, Hennesy v. Tina Marie Homes, Inc., 153 Colo. 572, 388 P.2d 758 (1963); Drake v. Lerner Shops of Colorado Inc., 145 Colo. 1, 357 P.2d 624 (1960). 14. Supra, note 3 at 313. 15. Supra, note 4 ......