PERSONAL INJURY: Summary judgment granted for plaintiff who slipped and fell on snow less than ten minutes after storm ceased

The defendant landlord was held to not reasonably be expected to remediate snow and ice while the storm was ongoing or less than ten (10) minutes later.  The plaintiff slipped and fell on premises owned by the lessor/defendant.

On the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, the defendant argued that an inadequate amount of time had transpired between the end of the storm and the plaintiff’s fall.  The plaintiff opposed the motion, arguing that expert testimony established that freezing rain ended seven minutes prior to her fall.

The court noted that while there may have been intermittent freezing rain or that the freezing rain might have ended prior to the plaintiff’s fall, the storm itself did not end until two hours after the plaintiff’s fall.  Even if the storm had ended completely seven minutes prior to the plaintiff’s fall, the court holds that no reasonable trier of fact would find that amount of time sufficient for the defendant to impose a duty upon the defendant to have remediated any dangerous conditions.

Coleman v. Kirby, CV15-60626062 (1/30/17 Elgo, J.)