New CA Torts Case
Below is a discussion of a new CA civil case published last month.
Torts
The issue of duty is an important concept in negligence. Last month, the Fourth District Court of Appeal published a new case addressing whether a contract between a Costco store and an independent contractor operating food sample tables in the store could effectively limit the duty the independent contractor owed to Costco customers in the store. A video discussing the case is above and my summary of the case is below.
New Torts Decision
Hassaine v. Club Demonstration Services, Inc. (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 1195331: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order granting defendants' motion for summary judgment in plaintiff's action alleging negligence and damages arising out of her slip and fall on a slippery substance on the floor of a Costco store. Defendant was an independent contractor that operated food sample tables within the store. The trial court erred in concluding that defendant owed no duty to plaintiff because defendant's contract with Costco Wholesale Warehouse Corporation (Costco) limited defendant's maintenance obligations to a 12-foot perimeter around each sample table, and plaintiff's fall occurred outside that boundary. The Court of Appeal ruled that businesses have a common law duty of ordinary care to their customers that extends to every area of the store in which they are likely to shop, and while the agreement between Costco and defendant might allocate responsibility and liability as a matter of contract between those parties, it did not limit the scope of defendant's common law duty to customers. (C.A. 4th, April 22, 2022.)
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