Renée S. Melchiode successfully defended a sanitation company against trip-and-fall lawsuit, by obtaining a reversal of a denial of its Motion for Summary Judgement.
A pedestrian, who tripped and fell over a hose connected to a sanitation truck and suspended across a sidewalk, brought a personal injury action against the sanitation company alleging negligence. The Civil District Court, Orleans Parish, denied the sanitation company’s Motion for Summary Judgment, which argued that the condition (i.e., the hose suspended across the sidewalk) was open and obvious.
The sanitation company filed a writ application to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Renée S. Melchiode argued before a five-judge panel, which ultimately ruled that the sanitation company had no duty to warn a pedestrian of an open and obvious condition and, thus, could not be negligent. Writ granted and judgment reversed. Subsequently, the Louisiana Supreme Court denied the pedestrian’s writ application.
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