Cardelli Lanfear Succeeds in Defending Summary Judgment Order on Appeal

In a recent Michigan Court of Appeals case of Giammarco v Diverse Facility Solutions, the law firm of Cardelli Lanfear, P.C., with the assistance of Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP, obtained an affirmance of the summary judgment entered in Diverse Facility Solutions’ favor.  The Giammarco case involved a slip and fall at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.  The plaintiff alleged that she slipped on a wet area of the floor that had recently been washed by an employee of Diverse Facility Solutions.  The trial court granted summary judgment, recognizing that Diverse Facility Solutions was in possession and control of the floor because of the washing activities performed and that this possession and control required the plaintiff to prove in avoidance of Michigan’s “open and obvious” doctrine.  Because the allegedly wet floor was an open and obvious condition, without any special aspects, summary disposition was required.  Following zealous briefing and oral argument on appeal, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, agreeing that the trial court properly ruled that allegations of premises liability cannot be recharacterized as ordinary negligence to avoid application of the “open and obvious” doctrine.  The full dismissal of all claims against Diverse Facility Solutions was affirmed.  Full Text of Opinion.  For more information, please feel free to contact Jason Newman, Anthony Caffrey, or Thomas Cardelli at Cardelli Lanfear, P.C.