FLB Law’s Bob Rhodes Secures Appellate Win in Slip and Fall Case for Hospitality Client

FLB Law partner Bob Rhodes successfully defended a hospitality client in a premises liability case on appeal, preserving a trial court victory for the defendant in a slip and fall matter previously reported.

The plaintiff claimed she was injured after slipping on a liquid substance on the defendant’s property in 2017. After a bench trial, the court ruled in favor of the defendant, finding the plaintiff, who had no eyewitnesses, failed to prove when the spill occurred or that the defendant acted unreasonably after being notified.

On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the trial court erred in its factual findings and legal conclusions and raised public policy concerns not presented at trial. The appellate court rejected these arguments, holding that the trial court’s findings were not clearly erroneous and that the plaintiff failed to prove a response delay sufficient to establish negligence.