Stapleman v. St. Joseph the Worker
| Decision Date | 16 March 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 43502,43502 |
| Citation | 205 N.W.2d 677,295 Minn. 406 |
| Parties | Eva STAPLEMAN, Respondent, v. ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Mahoney, Dougherty, Angell & Mahoney, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Berndt & Overson Mankato, for respondent.
John V. Norton, Stillwater, Robert M. Wattson, and Robins, Davis & Lyons, St. Paul (for Minn. Trial Lawyers Assoc.), amicus curiae.
Heard and considered en banc.
Defendant appeals from the judgment entered following denial of its motion for judgment notwithstanding a special verdict or for a new trial.
Plaintiff, while on defendant's premises as a licensee, tripped and fell over the base of a coatrack. The jury awarded her damages and apportioned the negligence 80 percent to defendant and 20 percent to plaintiff. We reverse and hold that plaintiff's negligence was at least equal to, if not greater than, that of defendant.
On May 1, 1966, plaintiff, in the company of two friends, drove to defendant's premises to attend a senior citizens' party to be held there. Defendant was furnishing its premises without charge to the group sponsoring the party. Plaintiff and her two friends entered the church premises through a pair of doors fronting on Seventh Street in the city of Mankato. These doors opened into a foyer area some 14 feet wide by some 24 feet in length. Plaintiff and her friends proceeded to walk through the foyer area to the opposite end where there was an opening to the auditorium premises. The foyer area was well lighted and as plaintiff walked through it, she passed on her right a door to a men's room; a door with no indication of what it was for; a coatrack; and a door to a ladies' room.
Plaintiff testified that she had no recollection of observing these doors as she proceeded to the auditorium section. She did indicate that there were a few people in the foyer area and that a card table had been set up for registration of the party guests. She entered the auditorium area and, after looking about and seeing no one, decided with her friends to proceed to the restroom. As they left the auditorium area, the doors swung open into the foyer area. The door on plaintiff's left obscured her view of the door to the ladies' room. She then proceeded to walk past the coatrack, which was next to the wall, toward the unmarked door. She indicated in her testimony that at this time others had come into the foyer area and she thought there were 20 to 25 people there. No one else testified that there were that many people in the area.
Plaintiff testified that as she reached the unmarked door, someone called out, 'You girls will have to go back, the ladies' room is back of you,' or, 'You ladies will have to go back to the ladies' rest room.' At that point, she turned and started to go back toward the auditorium area, caught her foot on the base of the coatrack, tripped, and fell. She suffered substantial injuries. Plaintiff testified that she remembered that the coatrack was along the wall as she proceeded to the door which was unmarked. At the time plaintiff turned from that door to proceed to the ladies' room, no one was between her and the coatrack. She testified that she was somewhat startled by the voice calling out to her. Mrs. Florence Philp, a friend of plaintiff who was accompanying her, testified that she heard the voice call out, 'Girls, go to the other end of the coatrack.'
Defendant called as one of its witnesses Carolyn Rovney, who testified that she was present in the foyer area and observed the plaintiff and her two friends enter, cross the foyer area, enter the auditorium area, and return and proceed to the unmarked door. Mrs. Rovney testified that there were five people present in the foyer area at the time she observed the plaintiff approaching the unmarked door, which opened to a stair. The witness further testified that she was one of the persons who called out and she thought that one other person with her also called out. She testified that she said, 'That's the wrong door, it's at the other end of the hallway and coatrack.' She observed the plaintiff turn her head after being called to and proceed to take one or two steps before falling over the coatrack. Mrs. Rovney also testified that she and the people she was with were standing beside the wall opposite the door which plaintiff was approaching.
The trial court instructed the jury that they were to determine the issue of liability based on the law applicable to the plaintiff as a licensee on the premises. Since this accident occurred before the release of our decision in Peterson v. Balach, 294 Minn. 161, 199 N.W.2d 639 (filed July 14, 1972), this is the proper law of this case. Our decision in the Peterson case which abolished the common-law distinctions between licensees and business invitees, was prospective only.
We have in the past adopted the Restatement rules as to licensees. Restatement, Torts 2d, § 341, states:
'A possessor of land is subject to liability to his licensees for physical harm caused to them by his failure to carry on his activities with reasonable care for their safety if, but only if,
'(a) he should expect that they will not discover or realize the danger, and
(b) they do not know or have reason to know of the possessor's...
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Peair v. Home Ass'n of Enola Legion No. 751
...578, 401 A.2d 366 (1979); Frank v. Peckich, 257 Pa.Super. 561, 391 A.2d 624 (1978). Appellant cites Stapleman v. St. Joseph the Worker, 295 Minn. 406, 205 N.W.2d 677 (1973), as an example of a case in which judgment n. o. v. was entered even though the jury had arrived at a verdict for the ......
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Olson v. City of St. James
...negligent as a matter of law. See Peterson v. Haule, 304 Minn. 160, 169, 230 N.W.2d 51, 57 (1975); Stapleman v. St. Joseph the Worker, 295 Minn. 406, 409-10, 205 N.W.2d 677, 679 (1973); Munoz v. Applebaum's Food Market, Inc., 293 Minn. 433, 434, 196 N.W.2d 921, 922 (1972). See also Springro......
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Peterson v. Haule
...374, 80 N.W.2d 53 (1956); Munoz v. Applebaum's Food Market, Inc., 293 Minn. 433, 196 N.W.2d 921 (1972); and Stapleman v. St. Joseph the Worker, 295 Minn. 406, 205 N.W.2d 677 (1973). In Dukek, an 18-year-old Western Union messenger was injured when he walked into a glass door entrance to def......
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Alley Const. Co., Inc. v. State, 44298
...is the prevailing party, we are compelled to view the evidence in the light most favorable to its position. Stapleman v. St. Joseph the Worker, 295 Minn. 406, 205 N.W.2d 677 (1973). We find there was adequate evidence for which the jury could accept plaintiff's position on this 1. The case ......