Mattox v. Atlanta Enterprises, 35582
| Decision Date | 18 April 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 1,No. 35582,35582,1 |
| Parties | Cleo MATTOX v. ATLANTA ENTERPRISES, Inc |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court.
The trial judge did not err in sustaining the general demurrer to the petition.
Alex McLennan, Atlanta, R. L. Addleton, Griffin, Wm. Hall, Cullen M. Ward, Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.
Hewlett, Dennis, Bowden & Barton, Atlanta, for defendant in error.
Mrs. Cleo Mattox brought an action for damages against Atlanta Enterprises, Inc., in Fulton Superior Court. The suit was based upon alleged negligence of Atlanta Enterprises, Inc., resulting in certain personal injuries to the plaintiff. The defendant filed a general demurrer to the petition, on the ground that the petition did not set forth a cause of action. The demurrer was sustained, the petition was dismissed, and the plaintiff excepted.
The petition alleged in substance that the defendant corporation was engaged in the amusement business, and on July 23, 1950 operated a motion-picture theatre in the City of Atlanta known as the Roxy Theatre; and that the defendant's theatre was operated for a profit and charged the public for admission. The petition further alleged: that the plaintiff resided in Griffin, Georgia, and was employed as Registrar of Spalding High School at Griffin; that the plaintiff brought three high-school children to Atlanta for the purpose of the children attending a motion-picture performance at the Roxy Theatre; that the plaintiff had custody of the children on the trip to Atlanta; that the plaintiff purchased tickets for the students to attend the Roxy Theatre; that, although the plaintiff did not attend the performance, she arranged to return for the children; that at about 11:15 p. m. the plaintiff returned for the children and informed an usher of her mission, and he invited her to enter for the purpose of looking for the children; that, being unable to locate the children, the plaintiff returned to the usher, who informed her that they were in the ladies' rest room; that the usher directed her to go down a stairway and then turn left as she entered the lobby, and to follow another stairway down into the rest room; that the theatre was capable of being lighted, but there were no ceiling lights on, and the only lights burning were two dim wall lights in the main lobby, which had shades over them; that the stairway was not lighted, even though there was a wall light on the stairway which could have been in use, but was not; that the plaintiff approached the entrance to the stairway; that the stairway was dark, and the plaintiff cautiously stepped forward down the stairs feeling her way as she advanced to the ladies' rest room; that the carpet on the stairway protruded up at the head of the stairway immediately above the first step, a distance of one and one-half inches, and there was a hole in it at that place; that the carpet on the first step also had a torn place twenty inches long; that there was a torn place in the carpet on the second step twenty-four inches long; that the defendant had...
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