Joseph Kauffman v. Park Place Hospitality Group

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 2:09-cv-01399-MBS Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998805438].. [11-1482]

Appeal: 11-1482

Document: 39

Date Filed: 03/08/2012

Page: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 11-1482

JOSEPH KAUFFMAN,
Plaintiff – Appellant,
v.
PARK PLACE HOSPITALITY GROUP, d/b/a Holiday Inn; RIVERVIEW
HOSPITALITY LLC,
Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Charleston.
Margaret B. Seymour, District
Judge. (2:09-cv-01399-MBS)

Submitted:

February 21, 2012

Decided:

March 8, 2012

Before NIEMEYER and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Neil
A.
Morris,
ARCHER
&
GREINER,
P.C.,
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, for Appellant. Amanda Morgan Blundy, J. Bennett
Crites, III, MCANGUS GOUDELOCK & COURIE, LLC, Charleston, South
Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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Date Filed: 03/08/2012

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PER CURIAM:
Joseph
granting

Kauffman

Appellees’

appeals

motion

in

the

district

limine

and

judgment on Kauffman’s negligence claim.

court’s

motion

orders

for

summary

Kauffman suffered a

shoulder injury when he fell walking down a ramp at a Holiday
Inn owned by Riverview Hospitality LLC and managed by Park Place
Hospitality Group.
court

erred

architect’s

in

On appeal, Kauffman argues that the district
granting

testimony

summary judgment.

Appellees’

and

in

motion

granting

to

exclude

an

motion

for

Appellees’

Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

We review de novo a district court’s order granting
summary

judgment,

inferences
nonmoving

viewing

therefrom
party.

the

in

Bonds

the
v.

facts
light

Leavitt,

and

drawing

most
629

reasonable

favorable
F.3d

Cir.), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct. 398 (2011).

369,

to

the

380

(4th

Summary judgment

shall be granted when “there is no genuine dispute as to any
material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter
of law.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).

summary

judgment

verdict

for

the

unless

a

nonmoving

A district court should grant

“reasonable
party”

on

jury

the

could

evidence

return

a

presented.

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).
Under South Carolina law, “[a] cause of action for
negligence requires: (1) the existence of a duty on the part of
the defendant to protect the plaintiff; (2) the failure of the
2

Appeal: 11-1482

Document: 39

defendant

to

Date Filed: 03/08/2012

discharge

the

duty;

Page: 3 of 4

[and]

(3)

injury

to

the

plaintiff resulting from the defendant’s failure to perform.”
S.C.

State

Ports

Auth.

v.

Booz-Allen

&

Hamilton,

Inc.,

346

S.E.2d 324, 325 (S.C. 1986).

A property owner has a duty to

exercise

the

reasonable

care

for

safety

of

an

invitee,

who

enters the property at the express or implied invitation of the
owner.

Sims v. Giles, 541 S.E.2d 857, 861-63 (S.C. Ct. App.

2001).

Because we conclude that the 1955 International Building

Code was the code applicable to the Holiday Inn at the time of
Kauffman’s fall, that code did not require handrail extensions,
and Kauffman did not show that Appellees otherwise had a duty to
alter the ramp’s handrail, we hold that the district court did
not err in finding that Appellees did not breach their duty to
exercise reasonable care for Kauffman’s safety.
We review a district court’s evidentiary decisions for
abuse of discretion.

United States v. Johnson, 617 F.3d 286,

292 (4th Cir. 2010).

To be qualified as an expert pursuant to

Federal Rule of Evidence 702, a witness “must have specialized
knowledge that will assist the trier of fact, and the knowledge,
skill, experience, training and education that qualifies [him]
on

the

subject

of

[his]

testimony.”

Id.

at

294.

Expert

testimony is admissible if it will assist the trier of fact and
(1) is “based on sufficient facts or data,” (2) is “the product
of reliable principles and methods,” and (3) the principles and
3

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Date Filed: 03/08/2012

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methods have been applied reliably to the facts of the case.
Fed. R. Evid. 702; see PBM Products, LLC v. Mead Johnson & Co.,
639

F.3d

111,

qualifications

123

(4th

required

Cir.
of

2011).

expert

“The

competency

witnesses

is

and

a

matter

committed to the broad discretion of the trial judge.”

Ludlow

Corp. v. Textile Rubber & Chem. Co., 636 F.2d 1057, 1060 (5th
Cir. 1981).
We conclude that Kauffman’s proffered expert did not
evince

specialized

knowledge,

skill,

experience,

training,

or

education in the application of the building codes for which
Kauffman intended to introduce his testimony.

Accordingly, we

hold that the district court did not abuse its broad discretion
in granting Appellees’ motion in limine.
We therefore affirm the district court’s orders.
dispense

with

oral

argument

because

the

facts

and

We

legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

4