Posted on 04/01/2010 6:23:05 AM PDT by Jonah Hex
Robert Holloway really stepped in it when he went to PetSmart to pick up some bird seed and dog food.
According to a lawsuit filed in federal court, Holloway slipped on a pile of dog feces a year ago at a Newport News PetSmart and badly hurt his back. He also struck his head, knocking out four of his false teeth, the suit says. He's suing the chain for $1 million...
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
PetSmart should sue this person for being an idiot who didn’t look where he was going.
He's barking up the wrong tree
Oh, crap! Not this s**t again!!!
I bet he said “oh! sh!t”!
I guess it's PetSmart & not PeopleSmart for a reason.
This HAS to be an April Fools Day joke. Or, maybe our country is just filled with year-round fools.
This was on the local news here this morning too. I am sad to say this country is just filled with year-round fools.
There is no evidence in this case that [Winn-Dixie] knew of the presence of the [bean] on the floor, nor is there any showing of the length of time it may have been there. It is just as logical to assume that it was placed on the floor an instant before [Parker] struck it as it is to infer that it had been there long enough that [Winn-Dixie] should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have known about it. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Parker 240 Va. 180, 184, 396 S.E.2d 649, 651 (Va.,1990)
Other states differ. If you invite the public in to do business, and your mode of operation (Bring your dog, which may poop on the floor, into our store) which exposes patrons to a risk of harm (Poop on a tile floor is quite slippery and will cause a person to fall), which patrons have a right to presume that the floor is free from dangerous conditions, the establishment is presumed to have notice of any resulting conditions.
Thus - in Va. this patron will have to prove that Petsmart knew of the poop on the floor and had adequate time to clean it up or otherwise protect its patrons.
Hey, I think they should throw in a new pair of shoes, too. But I’m being generous...
My thoughts exactly. I carry poop bags with me when I walk my dog, and even though the neighborhood association has three plastic bad dispensers, one at each entrance to the park along with dedicated trash cans for collections, there are still people who let their dog crap in the grass and leave it. It’s really disgusting when they let the dog go right by the swingsets where the kids play.
Petsmart may be found liable here, but they have one of their disgustingly callous customers to thank for this one.
Nah, that stuff cleans off real good. He can do it himself when he heals up.
Bingo.
The jury will have to determine if the poop was warm. ;)
PetSmart will blame it all on the person whose dog let loose.
"True story: I was at Costco one day and all of a sudden, nature called. Yelled is more like it. So I high-tailed into the John and there's some sensitive guy changing his little boy's diaper on one of them baby ironin' boards, and don't you know, I slipped on pee-pee and broke two vertebrae which had to be fused together. I'm in constant pain, but by God I got me a $53,000 settlement."
I know. But like I said, I was being generous...
Wal-Mart is sued, just in federal court alone, on average between two and five times every day somewhere in the US. The vast majority of these lawsuits are slip-and-falls.
However, as a matter of policy, Wal-Mart will contest each and every lawsuit, and refuses to settle. They have discovered that most of these cases are frivolous. Likewise they maintain video surveillance recordings of individuals who intentionally open containers of liquid and spill them on the floor, with the intent of “slipping” on them.
And those individuals who don’t slip “enough”, so stand up so they can “slip” again. And those individuals who bring friends and family members as witnesses, who patiently stand there to watch their performance. etc.
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