Gainey v. Smacky's Invests. Inc.

An out-of-possession landlord was not liable for the injury sustained by the plaintiff when she fell off an allegedly defective pull-down attic staircase, since no evidence showed that the landlord knew or should have known that the staircase was defective.

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Betty Gainey sued Frank E. Briggett and Smacky’s Investments, Inc. “Smacky’s”, claiming that she was injured when she fell from an attic staircase at a rental home owned, leased, and managed by Briggett and Smacky’s. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing, among other things, that Gainey had equal knowledge of the alleged hazard that caused her fall. The trial court granted the motion, and Gainey appeals. For reasons that follow, we affirm. On appeal from a grant of summary judgment, we conduct a de novo review, construing the evidence and all inferences drawn from it in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party.1 So viewed, the record shows that Briggett purchased the rental home for investment purposes in 2002. During a pre-purchase inspection, he entered the attic using a two-piece, pull-down staircase. The top portion of the staircase was bolted to plywood that dropped down from the ceiling. A separate portion was then manually attached to grooves at the bottom of the upper section to complete the staircase. By design, the lower portion of the completed staircase was not locked or bracketed into the upper section.

Briggett rented the home to Gainey’s daughter, Felicia Patterson, in August 2003, and he demonstrated how to use the attic staircase by assembling it while she watched. Thereafter, Patterson assembled and used the staircase on one occasion to place items in the attic. She had no problem using the staircase, did not notice anything wrong with it, and never complained to Briggett about it.

Gainey v. Smacky's Invests. Inc.

An out-of-possession landlord was not liable for the injury sustained by the plaintiff when she fell off an allegedly defective pull-down attic staircase, since no evidence showed that the landlord knew or should have known that the staircase was defective.

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