Plaintiff entered the Store to purchase pavers for use in a flower bed. Upon approaching the pavers, Plaintiff observed no issue with the manner in which they were stacked. Plaintiff testified that he removed pavers from a pallet located on a shelf but acknowledged that he did not take them from the top of the stack. As he removed the pavers, a row dislodged and fell, striking him on the head and causing significant injury. The Court found that the stacked pavers were open and obvious, clearly visible to Plaintiff, and did not constitute a dangerous condition. The Court further determined that there was no evidence that the incident resulted from a defect in the stacking of the pallet or from any defect in the pavers themselves. Accordingly, although the open and obvious nature of the pallet of pavers was evident, the Court concluded that Defendant did not breach its duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition. The Court additionally noted that Plaintiff’s argument regarding the manner in which the pavers were stacked depended on a series of speculative inferences to establish the elements of negligence. Congratulations to Shaunda Hill and her team for the win.
