Imagine shopping at the grocery store, selecting fruit, when suddenly you are flat on your back. Not just embarrassing but also painful and potentially injury-causing. Who should be liable in this type of case? In a similar case involving a Lake Charles Kroger store, the answer lay in who had notice of the hazard.
Glenda Parks was shopping at Kroger, perusing the produce section. After she passed the grape display, she slipped and fell. A store employee was working close by and helped Parks up. Parks proceeded to shop in the same area, then walked back to the grapes where she had fallen. She noticed several grapes on the floor, including some smashed ones. The Kroger employee was cleaning up the grapes and the surrounding floor. Parks was in the store for approximately twelve minutes in total.
Parks filed a lawsuit against Kroger, and Kroger filed a motion for summary judgment. The Fourteenth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Calcasieu agreed with Kroger that Parks would not be able to show that Kroger had the requisite notice of the hazard. Parks appealed to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.