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Hamilton v. Kentucky Fried Chicken of Valdosta Inc.

Premises owner's failure to turn on its parking lot lights raised a jury issue as to whether plaintiff failed to exercise ordinary care when she tripped and fell over a raised curb in the dark, even though she had successfully traversed the curb in daylight.

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Walking in the pitch dark of a restaurant’s unlit parking lot and distracted by cars using the drive-through lane that she was crossing,1 Nyla Hamilton tripped and fell on a raised curb that she had earlier traversed in the daylight. The restaurant’s approaches were configured so that patrons parking on the drive-through side of the restaurant would walk across the drive-through lane. She sued the restaurant owner Kentucky Fried Chicken of Valdosta for personal-injury damages. The owner successfully moved for summary judgment on the ground that Hamilton, having an hour earlier traversed the curb, failed to exercise ordinary care in tripping over the curb on her return. We reverse, holding that the owner’s actions in failing to turn on the parking lot lights and the distractions created by the vehicles in the drive-through lane create material issues of fact as to whether Hamilton exercised ordinary care for her own safety.2

Owners of land are liable to invitees for injuries caused by the owners’ failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe.3 Robinson v. Kroger Co.4 set forth the order of proof for such a cause of action:

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