Williams v. J. J. Butler Inc. d/b/a Butler Lexus

Mrs. Lillie M. Williams, as an invitee of J. J. Butler, Inc. d/b/a Butler Lexus, fell in crossing its parking lot where she claimed to have tripped over a “ridge” in the asphalt surface, which she had not seen prior to her fall or after her fall although there were no cars or other obstructions to prevent her from seeing it. Mrs. Williams and her husband George sued Butler Lexus for negligence. Butler Lexus answered, and after the depositions of the plaintiffs, it moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. We affirm.

Neither immediately before her fall nor immediately after her fall did plaintiff see what caused her fall. Plaintiff’s husband was not with her when she fell and did not see her fall or where she fell. After returning from receiving medical treatment, Mrs. Williams and her husband looked for the cause of her fall and identified the “ridge” as the cause. However, subsequently they were never able to relocate the “ridge,” and the plaintiff could not describe the “ridge” other than it was a raised area. The plaintiffs never pointed out the “ridge” to any employee of the defendant. The general manager and service manager of the defendant testified that they were unaware of and had no report of “any defect, ridge, area of unevenness or any other such irregularity in the parking lot” pavement either prior to or subsequent to plaintiff’s fall. When plaintiff first reported her fall to the defendant immediately after her injury, she merely stated that she fell in the parking lot and could not identify where or what caused the fall.