Williams Investment Company v. Girardot

• Decision Date: 27 March 2020
• Docket Number: A20A0649
• Citation: 354 Ga.App. 762,841 S.E.2d 436
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Parties: WILLIAMS INVESTMENT COMPANY v. GIRARDOT.

354 Ga.App. 762

841 S.E.2d 436

WILLIAMS INVESTMENT COMPANY

v.GIRARDOT.

A20A0649

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 27, 2020

James Bryant Thagard, Valdosta, Halton Tony Albritton Jr., for Appellant.

Eric K. Milles, for Appellee.

Phipps, Senior Appellate Judge.

Appellee Yulonda Girardot filed suit against appellant Williams Investment Company d/b/a Days Inn ("the hotel") to recover damages that she allegedly sustained when she slipped and fell on a wet sidewalk at appellant's hotel. The hotel filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. We granted the hotel's application for interlocutory appeal to review the trial court's decision. On appeal, the hotel contends that the trial court erred in denying summary judgment in its favor because the undisputed evidence established that Girardot (1) had equal, or superior, knowledge of the alleged hazardous condition and (2) assumed the risk associated with the alleged hazard. We agree with the hotel and reverse.

Summary judgment is proper when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 (c). A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.

(Citation omitted.) Pinckney v. Covington Athletic Club & Fitness Ctr. , 288 Ga. App. 891, 891, 655 S.E.2d 650 (2007).

So viewed, the record shows that on July 1, 2016, Girardot and her four grandchildren were guests at the hotel that appellant owned and operated. Girardot's hotel room was located in close proximity to the hotel's pool. After dinner, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Girardot and her grandchildren went to the pool. When walking to the pool area, Girardot did not notice anything hazardous or slippery about the subject sidewalk between the hotel room and the pool.

Girardot remained at the pool for approximately an hour. At some point, Girardot left the pool area to escort her youngest grandson to the bathroom. Girardot and her grandson traversed the same route back toward the hotel room that they had taken to the pool. It was near dusk and lights illuminated the sidewalk leading from the pool area to the hotel room.

According to Girardot, there had been approximately six other guests at the pool, and other pool guests may have walked down the same sidewalk before her. Girardot's grandson had not dried off at the pool and had water dripping from him as he walked ahead of Girardot. Girardot described that, as she walked from the pool area, the lights illuminated the sidewalk and she saw that the sidewalk leading to the hotel room was painted, "shin[y]," and wet. Girardot also observed that a portion of the enamel on the sidewalk's surface was peeling

off. Girardot further described that as the light was shining on the wet sidewalk, she could see that "it looked slick." Recognizing that the wet sidewalk area required the exercise of caution, Girardot warned her grandson to "slow down[.]"

While traversing the wet sidewalk, Girardot slipped and fell.¹ She suffered multiple injuries to the left side of her body as a result of the fall. She reported the fall incident to the hotel's front desk shortly thereafter and the hotel manager completed an incident report on the following day.

Girardot filed suit against the hotel, seeking to recover for damages that she allegedly sustained as a result of the fall incident. After deposing Girardot, the hotel filed a motion for summary judgment. In response to the motion, Girardot presented an expert affidavit from a retired OSHA trainer who opined that the hotel failed to maintain the sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition; the sidewalk surface had deteriorated paint, which significantly increased the likelihood of a pedestrian slipping when moisture was present; and that Girardot's fall was likely caused by the uneven surface material on the sidewalk. The trial court denied the hotel's motion and the instant appeal ensued.

The owner or occupier of [a] premises is under a duty to keep its premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers or defects not observable to invitees who are exercising ordinary care for their own safety. However, a property owner is not an insurer of the safety of its invitees. The mere showing of the occurrence of an injury does not create a presumption of negligence.

(Citations and punctuation omitted; emphasis supplied.) Cleghorn v. Winn Dixie Stores , 228 Ga. App. 766, 766, 492 S.E.2d 745 (1997).

[T]o recover damages for injuries sustained in a slip-and-fall action, an invitee must prove (1) that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard; and (2) that the plaintiff lacked knowledge of the hazard despite the exercise of ordinary care due to actions or conditions within the control of the owner/occupier.

(Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Weickert v. Home Depot U. S. A. , 347 Ga. App. 889, 891, 821 S.E.2d 110 (2018).

A plaintiff cannot recover on a premises liability claim unless the defendant had superior knowledge of the hazard; consequently, the defendant is entitled to summary judgment if there is no evidence that it had superior knowledge or if the undisputed evidence demonstrates that the plaintiff's knowledge of the hazard was equal to or greater than that of the defendant.

(Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Diaz v. Wild Adventures, Inc. , 289 Ga. App. 889, 891, 658 S.E.2d 362 (2008).

In the instant case, the hotel argues that it was entitled to summary judgment because the undisputed evidence, including Girardot's own deposition testimony, established that she had at least equal knowledge of the hazardous condition before she proceeded to walk on the sidewalk. We agree.

Significantly, at her deposition, Girardot testified that she had previously traversed the same sidewalk after she had checked...