Raube v. American Airlines, Inc.

• Decision Date: 13 March 2008
• Docket Number: No. 06 C 2768.,06 C 2768.
• Citation: 539 F.Supp.2d 1028
• Parties: Dawn RAUBE, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., a corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

539 F.Supp.2d 1028

Dawn RAUBE, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., a corporation, Defendant.

No. 06 C 2768.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

March 13, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Patrick E. Haskins, Michael D. Gerhardt, Gerhardt Gomez & Haskins, LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.

Gerald Vernon Cleary, III, Lisa Joy Kaufman, O'Hagan, Smith & Amundsen, L.L.C., Chicago, IL, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

AMY J. ST. EVE, District Judge.

Plaintiff Dawn Raube brings this diversity action against Defendant American Airlines, seeking recovery in tort for injuries sustained while walking on a jet bridge owned by Defendant. (See R. 1-1, Complaint, at pages 6-8.) Before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. (R. 28-1.) For the reasons below, the Court grants Defendant's Motion.

BACKGROUND

I. Local Rule 56.1

When determining summary judgment motions, the Court derives the background facts from the parties' Local Rule 56.1 statements. Local Rule 56.1 assists the Court by "organizing the evidence, identifying undisputed facts, and demonstrating precisely how each side propose[s] to prove a disputed fact with admissible evidence." Bordelon v. Chicago Sch. Reform Bd. of Trs., 233 F.3d 524, 527 (7th Cir. 2000). Specifically, Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) requires the moving party to provide "a statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue." Ammons v. Aramctrk Uniform Servs., Inc., 368 F.3d 809, 817 (7th Cir. 2004). Local Rule 56.1(b)(3) requires the nonmoving party to admit or deny every factual statement proffered by the moving party and to concisely designate any material facts that establish a genuine dispute for trial. See Schrott v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 403 F.3d 940, 944 (7th Cir. 2005).

The Seventh Circuit has "repeatedly held that a district court is entitled to expect strict compliance with Rule 56.1." Cichon v. Exelon Generation Co., L.L.C., 401 F.3d 803, 809 (7th Cir.2005) (collecting cases; internal quotation marks and citations omitted). If a party fails to comply with Local Rule 56.1, the Court disregards putative "facts" proffered by that party. Id. at 810 (citing Midwest Imports, Ltd. v. Coval, 71 F.3d 1311, 1316 (7th Cir.1995)); accord, e.g., Cichon, 401 F.3d at 809-10; see also Roger Whitmore's Auto. Serv., Inc. v. Lake County, 424 F.3d 659, 664 n. 2 (7th Cir.2005) ("It is not the duty of the district court to scour the record in search of material factual disputes. ...") (collecting cases). In addition, the Court deems all well-supported material facts set forth in the movant's statement to be admitted unless controverted in the non-movant's statement by specific references. See Malec v. Sanford, 191 F.R.D. 581, 584 (N.D.Ill.2000) (Castillo, J.) ("[A] general denial is insufficient to rebut a movant's factual allegations; the nonmovant must cite specific evidentiary materials justifying the denial."); accord, e.g., L.R. 56.1(b)(3); Cichon, 401 F.3d at 808 ("Our review of Cichon's response establishes that a great many of Cichon's written attempts in opposition to Exelon's statement of material facts amount to nothing more than conclusory statements, unaccompanied by required record citations ... constituting a violation of Local Rule 56.1."); Koszola v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 385 F.3d 1104, 1108 (7th Cir.2004).

Plaintiff has fallen short of her Local Rule 56.1 obligations. In response to Defendant's Motion, Plaintiff has filed only a three-page document titled "Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment" (hereinafter "Opposition"). (R. 37-1.) Plaintiffs single filing contravenes Local Rule 56.1(b), which requires a party opposing summary judgment to file multiple documents with the Court, including "a supporting memorandum of law" as well as "a concise response to the movant's statement [of material facts]." See L.R. 56.1(b)(2)-(3). It is unclear whether Plaintiffs Opposition is meant to be a legal memorandum, a response to Defendant's statement of uncontested facts, or a combination of the two.¹ The Opposition discusses, in a general manner, some of Defendant's factual claims, but it does not refer to specific paragraphs from Defendant's Statement, nor does it cite any evidentiary material. (See R. 37-1, at ¶¶ 3-7.) Rather, the Opposition contains only vague descriptions of a few potential factual issues and then states in a conclusory manner that each is a "genuine issue of material fact." (Id.) As such, Plaintiff's Opposition fails to satisfy Local Rule 56.1. See L.R. 56.1(b)(3)(B) (the nonmovant's response must contain "a response to each numbered paragraph in the moving party's statement, including, in the case of any disagreement, specific references to the affidavits, parts of the record and other supporting materials relied upon"); accord, e.g., Malec, 191, F.R.D. at 584 ("[A] general denial is insufficient to rebut a movant's factual allegations; the nonmovant must cite specific evidentiary materials justifying the denial."). Accordingly, the Court deems the facts proffered in Defendant's Statement to be admitted. See, e.g., Schrott v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 403 F.3d 940, 944 (7th Cir.2005) ("The district court was entitled to take these facts as uncontested, as the local rule provides."); Ammons, 368 F.3d at 817 ("Given their importance, we have consistently and repeatedly upheld a district court's discretion to require strict compliance with its local rules governing summary judgment.") (quoting Bordelon, 233 F.3d at 527); Midwest Imports, 71 F.3d at 1316 ("[I]t is a reasonable judgment on the part of the district court that strict, consistent, `bright-line' enforcement is essential to obtaining compliance with the rule and to ensuring that long-run aggregate benefits in efficiency inure to district courts.").

II. Undisputed Facts

As discussed above, the facts contained in Defendant's Statement are deemed to be admitted by Plaintiff. Moreover, because Plaintiff has failed to comply with the rules, the Court will not root through the record to make his case for him. See Corley v. Rosewood Care Ctr., 388 F.3d 990, 1001 (7th Cir.2004). The Court does, however, resolve any genuine factual ambiguities in Plaintiffs favor. See Foley v. City of Lafayette, 359 F.3d 925, 928 (7th Cir.2004).

In May of 2004, Plaintiff was a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Miami to Chicago. (R. 32-1, at ¶ 1.) After the aircraft landed safely in Chicago, Plaintiff deplaned and stepped onto a jet bridge, which was owned and maintained by Defendant (Id., at ¶¶ 2, 18-19.) A jet bridge is an enclosed structure that connects the aircraft to the terminal building (Id., at ¶ 24), and is designed to protect airline passengers from the weather while they board and deplane. (R. 33-1, Ex. B, at 23:23-24:5.) Several warning signs posted on the jet bridge displayed the words "Caution, uneven surfaces" and displayed a picture of a person tripping. (R. 32-1, at ¶¶ 29-31.) The jet bridge is used roughly 16 times per day by a total of approximately 3,200 passengers. (Id., at ¶¶ 35, 37.)

The jet bridge was congested with other passengers at the time Plaintiff walked onto it. (Id., at ¶ 4.) Plaintiff was being "rushed" by the other passengers, so she and a co-worker moved to the right side of the jet bridge to allow other passengers to walk around them. (Id., at ¶ 6.) As Plaintiff moved to the right side of the jet bridge, she was "nudged a bit" by another passenger. (Id., at ¶¶ 12-13.) As a result of this nudge, Plaintiff tripped, fell, and twisted her ankle. (Id., at ¶¶ 10, 12-13.) Plaintiff has admitted that the cause of her fall was the "nudge" she received from the other passenger. (Id., at ¶¶ 12-13.) Plaintiff never noticed anything about the condition of the jet bridge that she thought was dangerous or defective. (Id., at ¶ 9.)

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against American Airlines in Illinois state court on April 26, 2006, seeking damages for injuries related to her fall. (R. 1-1.) The case was removed to federal court by Defendant on May 17, 2006, and slated on Judge Filip's docket. (See id., at pages 1-3.) The case was then transferred to this Court on March 6, 2008. (R. 42-1.)

LEGAL STANDARDS

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is proper when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P 56(c). A genuine issue of material fact exists if "the, evidence is such' that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In determining summary judgment motions, "facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party only if there is a `genuine' dispute as to those facts." Scott v. Harris, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 1776, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007). The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of establishing the lack of any genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). After "a properly supported motion for summary judgment is made, the adverse party `must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (quoting Fed R. Civ. P. 56(e)). Furthermore, "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [nonmovant's] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [nonmovant]." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

II. Choice of Law

Because this is a diversity case, the Court must apply state substantive law. See, e.g., Maroules, 452 F.3d at 645-46. In determining which state's substantive law...