Ramadan v. Home Depot, Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 November 2020
• Docket Number: Case No. 18-12765
• Citation: 504 F.Supp.3d 695
• Parties: Ali RAMADAN, Plaintiff, v. HOME DEPOT, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

504 F.Supp.3d 695

Ali RAMADAN, Plaintiff,

v.HOME DEPOT, INC., Defendant.

Case No. 18-12765

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

Signed November 30, 2020

Azzam E. Elder, Elder Brinkman Law, Dearborn, MI, for Plaintiff.

Katherine Marie Nighswander, Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, MI, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [ECF NO. 16]

Stephanie Dawkins Davis, United States District Court Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

On March 3, 2017, Plaintiff Ali Ramadan was shopping at the Home Depot store in Northville, Michigan, when he was allegedly struck in the head by falling pieces of metal trim, causing traumatic brain injury

. Ramadan filed suit against Defendant, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.,¹ for negligence in the Wayne County Circuit Court on July 5, 2018, alleging that Home Depot breached its duty of care with regard to the allegedly unstable and unsecured metal trim and permitted unsafe conditions to exist in violation of M.C.L. § 125.536. (ECF No. 1, PageID.11–18). Home Depot removed the matter to this court based on diversity jurisdiction on September 6, 2018. (ECF No. 1, PageID.1–10). On October 3, 2019, Home Depot filed the present Motion for Summary Judgment, moving this court to dismiss this case. For the reasons discussed below, this court will grant in part and deny in part Defendant's Motion. The court will grant summary judgment on Ramadan's statutory claim and claim of ordinary negligence. However, the court will not grant summary judgment on Ramadan's premises liability claim because the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur may be applicable to this case. See Morris v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , 330 F.3d 854, 862 (6th Cir. 2003) (holding that "it is inappropriate to conclude that res ipsa loquitur does not apply when factual disputes remain as to how the accident occurred and whether the instrumentality was in the defendant's control. Because such factual disputes remain in this case, the application of res ipsa loquitur is a question for the jury to decide.").

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On March 3, 2017, Ramadan was shopping at the Home Depot store in Northville, Michigan. (ECF No. 16-3, PageID.151). While shopping, Ramadan sought and obtained the assistance of Home Depot Customer Service Associate James Evans to help him find a certain type of electrical outlet. Id. As Evans was leading Ramadan down aisle two of the store toward the electrical outlets, a few pieces of metal trim came loose from an external display ("bracket") and fell on Ramadan's head. Id. Evans did not see the actual accident. (ECF No. 16-5, PageID.179, 186). He was walking in front of Ramadan and heard something fall. Id. However, Evans knows that Ramadan was hit by the metal trim. Id. Evans does not know what caused the trim to fall. (Id. at PageID.181).

Evans called the assistant store manager, William Dingman, right after the accident occurred. (ECF No. 16-5, PageID.180). Evans also put the metal trim back into the bracket where it should have been held. (Id. at PageID.183). Evans observed that the bracket was bent when he put the metal trim back in the bracket after it hit Ramadan in the head. (Id. at PageID.183). However, Evans did not notify his manager of the bent bracket at that time. Id.

Ramadan spoke with Dingman after the incident and filled out an incident report. The report states that Ramadan was walking down the aisle, that the metal trim was not locked, and three or four metal pieces fell and hit him in the head, causing a scrape and a little bleeding. (ECF No. 19-1, PageID.487). Dingman filled out a general liability claim worksheet that stated that he believes Ramadan ran into the channels with his cart, and that is why the channels fell and hit him. (ECF No. 16-7, PageID.220). He does not recall what Ramadan told him on the date of the accident that led him to conclude that Ramadan ran his cart into the metal trim. Id. However, according to Dingman, Evans told him that Ramadan ran into the channels with his cart. (Id. at PageID.221).

Ramadan took photographs with his cell phone of his injuries, the metal trim that struck him, and a portion of the external display approximately 10 to 15 minutes after the accident occurred. (ECF No. 16-3, PageID.154). The photographs, the deposition testimony of Evans and Dingman, and a product information sheet identify the metal trim as a "metal surface raceway channel"—a type of wire molding that is used to conceal and mount electrical wires to a wall. (See ECF No. 16-9, PageID241). Each piece of the trim is ten feet in length and weighs 47.2 ounces (2.95 pounds). (Id. at PageID.245). The trim was situated in a vertical external display attached to the permanent retail shelving unit, which consisted of a bottom base affixed to the shelving unit approximately 9-12 inches from the floor which cradled the ends of the trim and a top bracket that corralled the trim. (ECF No. 16, PageID.114).

The photographs taken by Ramadan reveal that the top bracket of the display was slightly bent at the time of the accident. (See ECF No. 16-4, 16-6, 16-8). Neither Ramadan nor Evans saw the trim fall, but Ramadan believes that the raceway channels were not secure in the bracket that held them, likely because the bracket was bent. (ECF No. 18, PageID.259).

Ramadan testified at a deposition about the accident. (ECF No. 16-3). He stated that Evans was walking down the center of aisle two, leading the way, and that he was walking on Evans’ right side. (Id. at PageID.154–55). He was talking to Evans about an electrical question, then he looked to his left and got struck by 3 to 4 raceway channels. (Id. at PageID.152). Ramadan testified that the raceway channels were not secured by the bracket, but that they were on the outside of the bracket. Id. at 153. He stated that after the accident occurred, Dingman came over, said that the bracket that had been holding the channels was bent, and thought that maybe a hi-lo had hit it. (Id. at PageID.154).

At his deposition, Evans testified that Home Depot's Merchandise Execution Team (MET) is responsible for setting up the external displays that hold the raceway channels. (Id. at PageID.186). Home Depot's Freight Team is responsible for placing the metal raceway channels into the bracket displays. (ECF No. 16-5, PageID.180). Every employee is responsible for notifying management when there is a problem with a display. Id. Evans also testified that Customer Service Associates, like himself, are responsible for maintaining and inspecting their assigned areas daily for safety issues. (ECF No. 16-5, PageID.186–187).

Evans was assigned to aisle two, the aisle where Ramadan was injured, on the day of the accident. (Id. at PageID.187). He did not observe anything that would be a safety concern as he was escorting Ramadan down aisle two of the store. (Id. at PageID.188). Evans testified that if the raceway channels were not secured properly in either the upper or lower bracket, then that would need to be fixed. (Id. at PageID.188–89). Evans does not remember if Ramadan bumped into the display and did not see Ramadan bump into the raceway channels. (Id. at PageID.184). He also did not testify that anyone else bumped into the channels, causing them to fall. Id. Evans testified that the metal channels do not easily fall and do not just fall. Id. He stated that the channels should never have fallen on Ramadan. Id. Evans also does not believe that Ramadan caused the injuries that he sustained in the accident. (Id. at PageID.185).

Evans does not know when the bracket holding the raceway channels got damaged and he did not know anything was wrong with the brackets prior to Ramadan's incident. (ECF No. 16-5, PageID.185–86). Evans knew of no prior incidents where the raceway channels had fallen out of the brackets. (Id. at PageID.186). However, Home Depot did repair the bracket after the accident. (Id. at PageID.183). Evans does not know what caused the raceway channels to fall. (Id. at PageID.181). He does not recall saying anything about the brackets being bent, and he does not recall Dingman stating that the hi-lo drivers probably bent the display rack. (Id. at PageID.182). Evans has not been told by anyone at Home Depot if video footage of the accident exists. (Id. at PageID.184).

Dingman testified that no customers had ever complained that the bracket fixtures were damaged. (ECF No. 16-7, PageID.221). His team never needed to replace damaged brackets before. (Id. at PageID.218). In addition, Dingman stated that he did not recall anything about the brackets being bent on the night of the accident, and he was not aware of any bent or damaged brackets on the night of the accident. (Id. at PageID.210). However, Dingman conceded that the photograph that Ramadan took of the bracket shows that it was bent on the night of the accident. (Id. at PageID.221). Nevertheless, Dingman does not believe that the bend in the bracket would make the channels become unsecure and fall out. Id. Dingman testified that in order to get the raceway channels out of the bracket fixture, someone must pull the product out and then back again, in almost an S shape. Id. Dingman spoke to Asset Protection—the department that handles the store surveillance—and he does not believe there were cameras that recorded aisle two where the accident occurred. (Id. at PageID.215). Lastly, Dingman does not know how or when the bracket got fixed because he did not put a request in for the bracket to be fixed. (Id. at PageID.210).

As a result of the accident, Ramadan says he suffered a traumatic brain injury

and his doctor diagnosed him with post-concussive syndrome. (ECF No. 18-4, PageID.430). His physician assistant and doctor concluded with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the March 3, 2017 incident at Home Depot caused his injuries. Id. Ramadan will require ongoing medical monitoring and medical treatment for the traumatic...