Trial Results
Jones v. Jenkins. Tazewell County. Judge Scott Shore.
The homeowner/general contractor sued his framing carpenter and tile installer after marble and tile floors in a new home failed. Plaintiff was the general contractor for the construction of a spec home. He had no experience in any construction trade, but had served as general contractor for a couple of other spec homes that he built. We represented the carpentry subcontractor who framed the house and laid the OSB subfloor. The codefendant tile contractor installed cement board and tile flooring. Plaintiff decided to live in the house before selling it and the flooring began to fail shortly after they moved in. He claimed that the carpenter failed to leave a gap between OSB panels and that the tile contractor failed to properly set the tile which led to the failure of the marble and tile floors. The jury disagreed, finding that the Plaintiff failed to fulfill his obligations as general contractor in a reasonable and workmanlike manner. Defendants contended that the Plaintiff deviated from the plans by installing heavier tile flooring and heavy fixtures, that he provided substandard materials, and that he failed to coordinate the work and materials used by the two contractors. The trial lasted three and half days and included seven experts. After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a not guilty verdict for both defendants.
Premises Liability Summary Judgment
Adam Chaddock obtained summary judgment on behalf of a hardware store in a recent premises liability case. Plaintiff alleged that she fell on an empty wooden pallet on which bags of top soil had been stacked. She had crossed the empty wooden pallet to reach a bag of top soil stacked on a back pallet. As she picked up the bag of topsoil, she turned to return to her car. In her first step back to the car, she placed her foot between the slats of the wooden pallet and fell. Plaintiff suffered a fractured tibia and subsequent DVT.
The Motion for Summary Judgment was based upon the open and obvious nature of the wooden pallet and the Plaintiff's own contributory negligence. Plaintiff argued at hearing that the infamous Ward v. K-Mart case, and its distraction exception applied. Specifically, Plaintiff argued that she was distracted by the bag of top soil and her efforts to take the bag to her car. Defendant prevailed by factually distinguishing Ward from the instant case. Appeal is expected.