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Fitzpatrick v. Hyatt Corp.

In the plaintiff's premises liability action arising after she fell off a stage at a conference at a hotel, fact questions remained, including whether the hotel knew of the stage's unsafe configuration and whether the plaintiff exercised ordinary care for her own safety, and the trial court thus erred in granting summary judgment to the hotel.

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Kimberly Fitzpatrick filed this premises liability action to recover for injuries she sustained when she fell off a stage at a conference she was attending at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah. The trial court granted Hyatt summary judgment. On appeal, Fitzpatrick argues that whether Hyatt knew of the stage’s unsafe configuration and whether Fitzpatrick exercised ordinary care for her own safety are questions of fact that preclude summary judgment. She also argues that the trial court erred in applying a heightened sense of awareness standard of care. Finally she argues that the trial court erred by failing to consider whether Hyatt had a duty to install railings or other safety measures when assembling the stage. We agree with Fitzpatrick that whether Hyatt knew of the stage’s unsafe configuration and whether Fitzpatrick exercised ordinary care for her own safety are fact questions. Accordingly, we reverse Hyatt’s grant of summary judgment. We reject Fitzpatrick’s other arguments.

1. Facts.

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