No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - The Case Of The Falling "Chicken Helper"
.jpg)
The case Jackson v. Brookshire Grocery Company demonstrates how apparently reasonable warnings by store employees can be used by a customer to prove the existence of an unsafe condition under Louisiana’s “falling merchandise” law. On March 9, 2007, Kenneth Jackson was shopping at Super One Foods in Alexandria Louisiana when several cases of merchandise fell on him. The products in the area where Mr. Jackson was shopping were displayed in cases, which were stacked on top of each other with the front of the cases removed so that their contents could be viewed. At the time of the incident, Mr. Jackson was reaching for a box of “Chicken Helper” from a case that was about six feet from the ground. As he reached for the box, two store employees observed the customer’s actions and shouted for him to “stop” or “look out.” However, before the customer could respond, the cases had already fallen on him, injuring his arm.
The Third Circuit affirmed the trial judge’s finding of liability in favor of the customer. In reaching its decision, the Court recognized that to prevail in a “falling merchandise” case, the customer must demonstrate that: (1) he did not cause the merchandise to fall; (2) that another customer in the aisle at that moment did not cause the merchandise to fall; and (3) that the merchant’s negligence was the cause of the accident. The Court agreed with the trial court’s conclusion that the mere fact that a customer reaches for a product resulting in another product falling on him does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the customer caused the accident. Rather, the ultimate inquiry as to causation remains and the question of whether the customer caused the item to fall and whether the merchant’s negligence caused the accident must be explored further. The court thus affirmed the trial court’s finding that the store owner’s negligence was the cause of the accident given that the customer had no idea that several cases of merchandise would fall on him when he made his selection. Also, the court found that the fact that store employees shouted a warning to the customer as he was removing the product from the case proved that the store was aware that a premise hazard or dangerous condition existed at the time of the incident.
Take-Away: This case demonstrates the difficult burden facing a merchant in cases involving falling merchandise. Unless strong evidence can be presented to demonstrate that the plaintiff was solely at fault in causing the falling merchandise, liability will likely be imposed on the store owner.
