Fred's Stores of Tenn. Inc. v. Davenport

By failing to refute defendant store's evidence that an employee inspected the same area where her slip-and-fall took place minutes earlier and found the floor clean, plaintiff did not establish store's actual or constructive knowledge of the paper clip that caused her to fall.

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In this slip-and-fall case, Fred’s Stores of Tennessee, Inc. appeals from the trial court’s denial of summary judgment in its favor. Appellee Barbara Davenport alleged that she slipped and fell on a jumbo paper clip in the aisle of one of Fred’s stores. Fred’s moved for summary judgment on the ground that it had no actual or constructive knowledge of the presence of the paper clip. The trial court denied summary judgment on the basis that a Fred’s employee allegedly engaged in spoliation of evidence and that this action could be construed as “evidence of actual or constructive knowledge of the foreign substance.”1 We granted Fred’s application for interlocutory appeal to consider the possible effect of the alleged spoliation of evidence on Fred’s knowledge of the hazard. Because uncontradicted evidence establishes that Fred’s had no knowledge of the paper clip before Davenport’s fall and the alleged spoliation after the fall is therefore irrelevant, we reverse.

The relevant facts can be briefly stated. The store’s assistant manager, Ann Rowell, testified that she performed Fred’s required periodic inspection procedures approximately two minutes before Davenport’s fall. She also testified that she inspected the exact location where Davenport fell and that there was no paper clip on the floor at that time.

Fred's Stores of Tenn. Inc. v. Davenport

By failing to refute defendant store's evidence that an employee inspected the same area where her slip-and-fall took place minutes earlier and found the floor clean, plaintiff did not establish store's actual or constructive knowledge of the paper clip that caused her to fall.

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