Turner v. College Amusement Co.
| Decision Date | 14 February 1949 |
| Docket Number | 40909 |
| Citation | 217 S.W.2d 504 |
| Parties | Mattie Turner, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. College Amusement Company, Inc., Defendant-Respondent |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
From the Circuit Court of Boone County Civil Appeal Judge W. M Dinwiddie
Affirmed
This is an action for $10,000.00 damages for personal injuries. The trial court directed a verdict for defendant at the close of plaintiff's evidence. Plaintiff has appealed from the judgment entered.
Plaintiff fell in the east aisle of the balcony of defendant's theatre, while attempting to get to a seat during a moving picture show. Plaintiff claims as negligence, failure to provide lights in the aisle, permitting the carpet on the aisle floor to become worn, loose and disarranged, failure to warn of the worn and uneven condition of the carpet, and failure to provide an usher. However, we do not think that plaintiff made a case of actionable negligence on these grounds.
Plaintiff went to the theatre about three o'clock in the afternoon. She had been there several times before and always sat in the balcony. She was accompanied by two other women, one of whom preceded her down the balcony aisle; the other, stopping on the mezzanine, later came to where they were seated. Plaintiff said it was dark, that there was no usher, and that she could not see the steps but held on to the seats. She said:
Plaintiff thought "it was the second or third step" of the balcony where she fell; that all of her right foot was on a solid step; and that she broke her shoe sole in two and the heel was hanging loose, held by one corner. She said the heel was not a narrow high heel but a military heel, 2 or 2 1/2 inches high. She said she did not stop to examine the place where she had fallen, when she went out, although the lights were on at the time. She stayed until the second afternoon show was over and saw other people in the balcony at that time.
On cross-examination plaintiff said the object that caught her heel "was something secured to the floor or it would have given"; that she "would not know whether it was in the middle of the step or not"; that her heel could have been hung on the edge of the step; and that she did not know whether it was or not but did not think so. She said: "When the heel pulled off that is what threw me." She made no report of the fall at the theatre. One of plaintiff's companions, Mrs. Rapp, said she made no examination of the place where plaintiff fell, but on leaving "did look down and noticed that the rug carpet was sort of rumpled and worn and there was a raised place on the step * * * it wasn't smooth." However, she was not sure whether the first five steps of the balcony had a wool carpet or rubber sponge matting. She did not make any attempt to examine the aisle or to determine what caused plaintiff to fall but just glanced down at the aisle as they went out.
Plaintiff also had as a witness a former employee at the theatre who said that there were aisle lights along the aisles on the lower floor but none in the balcony; and that there were two ushers on duty at the time on the lower floor but none in the balcony. He said there were lights on two large brackets on the east wall of the balcony; that there was a red exit light at the rear; that there was a large chandelier that drops down into the center of the house with a large number of colored lights; that in the afternoon daylight would be coming in from the mezzanine at the head of the east aisle; and that light was reflected from the screen out into the house. (Plaintiff and her companions said the light from the screen blinded them rather than helped them.) He also said that he had no knowledge of anything wrong with the carpets and that there was a maintenance man who made daily inspections of the theatre, including the aisles and a janitor who cleaned them. He further stated that the east aisle was lighted so that a person could see his way; and that it was lighted as good as the average theatre is. One of plaintiff's companions said they "stood a minute to get our eyes accustomed to it", before starting down the aisle. It is, of course, common experience that one cannot see as well immediately upon entering a dimly lighted theatre as after one's eyes have had a little time to react to such a condition. It is also well known that moving picture theatres must be dimly lighted while showing pictures.
Plaintiff relies on Oakley v. Richards, 275 Mo. 266, 204 S.W 505 (); Petera v....
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