Currie v. Trace Apartments et al

Filing 39

ORDER denying 28 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball on 4/13/11 (dfk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON DIVISION

SHARON F. CURRIE

PLAINTIFF

VS.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:10cv107-FKB

TRACE APARTMENTS, LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP and CASE &
ASSOCIATES PROPERTIES, INC.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER
This cause is before the court on the motion of Defendants for summary judgment.
Having considered the motion, response, and reply, along with the evidence of record, the
court concludes for the reasons set forth herein that the motion should be denied.
This is a premises slip-and-fall case involving a single step near the office entrance
at the Trace Apartments. Plaintiff, an invitee, was injured when she missed the step and
fell. Defendants contend that the step was, as a matter of law, not unreasonably
dangerous because a step at an office entrance is a normal and expected danger. See
Tate v. Southern Jitney Jungle Co., 650 So. 2d 1347 (Miss. 1995) . The court disagrees.
While steps at an office entrance may frequently constitute a normal and expected
danger, the court concludes that there is a question of fact as to whether the particular
step involved in this case - a single step constructed out of the same materials as the

decking of which it was a part - was “usual, normally expected, and therefore not
unreasonably dangerous.” Wood v. RIH Acquisitions MS II, LLC, 556 F.3d 274, 281 (5th
Cir. 2009). For this reason, the motion is hereby denied.
SO ORDERED, this the 13th day of April, 2011.
/s/ F. Keith Ball
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE