WPC 3/ awK:zr*d5Dǰro;,ƴX}HCVנR̝q/Ѿs438{ds{ܞ, N,2.( s YEN6*,ԯKl$ ]A1$c&ԯbPU Ux rAO2~#=8Y ]fzG\909\>\=ܲgsuǜЁWܯ- )C[kz!~eig:ɋڲ@QOʹ<zˋ!xqdc$GBu-n-Y/R|-]ck&yzZmkaYZ=xY9;õh.Tlb^ gv$P0 jg-?sߟbwz9&~y.wPTn'qI 0H޼|KM#%Y!%v'ݞ # UN % 0(bw@4[o~HP LaserJet 5/5M PostScriptPSCRIPT0nLD(9 Z 6Times New Roman RegularX($- - ==E==E==U=E===e1u#%3|x= !  ======TR[A' Legal3'A' Legal3'T7dXXdd7    BOBBIEREAD,   h     ) p WilliamsonCircuit   `     h     ) p No.I95391   ` Plaintiff/Appellant, h     )   `     h     )VS. `     h     )    `     h     ) p    HOMEDEPOTUSA,INC.,    ) p AppealNo.    `     h     ) p 01A019803CV00121 | t  ` Defendant/Appellee. h     ) p  h` @C C INTHECOURTOFAPPEALSOFTENNESSEE@(ATNASHVILLE@l l APPEALFROMTHECIRCUITCOURTOFWILLIAMSONCOUNTY@vv#ATFRANKLIN,TENNESSEE  HONORABLECORNELIAA.CLARK,JUDGE   wR.E.LeeDavies123FifthAvenue,NorthFranklin,Tennessee37064ATTORNEYFORPLAINTIFF/APPELLANTRobertOrr,Jr.210ThirdAvenue,NorthP.O.Box190683Nashville,Tennessee372190683ATTORNEYFORDEFENDANT/APPELLEE  REVERSEDANDREMANDED.  `&X"  `     h     HENRYF.TODD,JUDGE `     h     CONCURS:BENH.CANTRELL,PRESIDINGJUDGE,M.S.WILLIAMC.KOCH,JR.,JUDGE  ;49 ЇBOBBIEREAD,   h     ) p WilliamsonCircuit   `     h     ) p No.I95391   ` Plaintiff/Appellant, h     )   `     h     )VS. `     h     )    `     h     ) p    HOMEDEPOTUSA,INC.,    ) p AppealNo.    `     h     ) p 01A019803CV00121 | t  ` Defendant/Appellee. h     ) p  h`  @88( ۠XXOPINION#XdX۠ #  ,$    ` Thisisapremisesliabilitycaseinwhichthecaptionedplaintifftrippedoveranobstructionintheaisleofaretailstore.TheTrialCourtrenderedsummaryjudgmentforthestorebecausetheobstructionwasopenandobvious.Plaintiffhasappealedandpresentedthefollowingissues: `   1. h Whetherthetrialcourtmisappliedthe open  andobviousruleunderthecomparativenegligencestandardsinTennessee.  2. h WhetherHomeDepot,whenusingoverhead L!D displaysofmerchandisedesignedtoattractshoppersattentiontothemerchandiseratherthanthefloor,hasadutytokeepitsfloorfreeofobjectsorwarnitscustomersofsuchobjectsiftheywerenotremoved. `  ` Defendanthaspresentedthefollowingissues:`    I. h Whethertheundisputedfactsmakeany p+h$' showingfromwhichitcanbesaidthatHomeDepotreasonablykneworshouldhaveknownoftheprobabilityofanoccurrencesuchastheonewhichcausedMrs.Readsinjuries.  II. h Whethertheundisputedfactsestablishasa 0)- matteroflawthatthefaultofMrs.ReadequaledorexceededthatofHomeDepot. >` 0L ` Thefactsareundisputed.  l7d04  ` Defendantdisplaysforsaleawidevarietyofproductsusedinconstruction,renovation anddecorationofhomes.Thebuildingisalargewarehousewithhighceilingsandshelvesforstorageofcartonsofmerchandise.Thecartonsaretemporarilystackedintheaislesusedbycustomers,butemployeesareinstructedtomovethecartonsfromtheaisletotheshelvespromptlytocleartheaisle.Asampleofeachitemisremovedfromitscartonanddisplayedforcustomerview. ` Ontheoccasionofplaintiffsinjury.Therewasastackofcartonswhichhadbeenplacedintheaisleduringthemorningandthestoreemployeesfailedtomovethecartonsfromtheaisletotheshelvespromptlyandhadgonetolunchwithoutdoingso.Thestackwashighenoughtobereadilyvisible,butonecarton,whichwasontheflooroftheaisle,waslongerthantherestandprotrudedintotheaisleafewinchesfurtherthantheothercartons. ` Themerchandiseinthisareaincludedover200ceilinglightfixtures(chandeliers)whichwerehung18feetabovethefloorinwhatwasdescribedasalightcloudwhichextendedtheentirelengthoftheaisle. ` Plaintiff,asixtyyearoldvisitorfromMississippi,accompaniedbyhersisteranddaughter,visiteddefendantsstorelookingforalightfixtureforherchurch.Asthegroupwalkedintheaisle,plaintiffsdaughterandsisterledthewayandpartiallyobstructedplaintiffsviewofthefloorahead.Allthreeladieswerelookingatthelightedchandeliersoverhead.Plaintiffdidnotseethecartonprotrudingintotheaislefurtherthanthestack.Shetrippedoverit,fellandwasinjured. ` ThestandardsforentryofsummaryjudgmentareestablishedbyTRCPRule56.04.Themovingpartymustpresentundisputedevidenceoffactswhichentitlethatpartytojudgmentas amatteroflaw.Byrdv.Hall,Tenn.1993,847S.W.2d208.Whetherasummaryjudgment 6/4 shouldberenderedisaquestionoflaw.Robertsv.Roberts,Tenn.App.1992,845S.W.2d225.   `   ` PriortorecentdecisionsoftheSupremeCourt,thecourtsofTennesseeappliedwhatwasknownasthe openandobviousruletodefeatapremisesliabilitysuitwherethedangeronthepremiseswasasopenandobvioustotheplaintiffastothedefendant.McCormickv.Waters, h` Tenn.1980,594S.W.2d385.KendellOilCo.v.Payne,Tenn.App.201,293S.W.2d40(1955). @8   ` InMcIntyrev.Ballentine,Tenn.1992,833S.W.2d52,theSupremeCourtadoptedthe   principleofcomparativefault,wherebyaplaintiffguiltyofnomorethan50%faultmightreceiveapartialrecovery,butifplaintiffsfaultexceeds50%therecanbenorecovery. ` InColnv.CityofSavannah,Tenn.1998,966S.W.2d34,theSupremeCourtmodified PH theopenandobviousruletoprovidethat,==the====controllerofthepremises==maybeheldliablewhereheorsheknows====orshouldhavepriorknowledgeofadangerousconditiononthepremiseswhichmightreasonablycauseharmtoreasonablyprudentvisitorwhoseattentionmaybedistractedsothathewillnotdiscoverwhatisobvious==and====failtoprotecthimselfagainstthedanger. ` ThefactualconsiderationspointedoutinMcIntyreandColnaresuchthat,beforethelawisapplied,theremustfirstbefindingsoffact.Thenecessaryfactsarenotsoconclusivelyestablishedinthepresentrecordastojustifyasummaryjudgment.== ` Thepresenceofthe cloudoflightfortheexpress=f==p=urposeofattractingtheattentionofcustomersplacedaspecialdutyofcareuponthedefendanttoprovidesafetyforthecustomerswhoseattentionwasdivertedfrom==theirpathwaytotheceiling. ` Moreover,theemployeeshavingtheassigneddutytopromptlycleartheaisleofcartonsbyplacingthemonshelves,knowingthatthecartonswereintheaisle,failedtoperformtheirdutybyleavingthecartonsintheaislewhiletheywenttolunch. 816 Ї ` Thedivers=ionofherattentiontothec===il===eiling,theobstructionofherviewofthefloorbyhercompanionsshewasfollowing,andthefactthatacartonoverwhichshetrippedwasprotrudingfurtherintotheaislethanthestackofcartons,allmitigateorremoveanyfaultoftheplaintiffwhichm===giuht===ightbefoundunderothercircumstances.============= ` Alloftheforegoingcircumstancesprecludeasummaryjudgmentandrequireanevaluationbythefinderoffact. ` ThejudgmentoftheTrialCourtisreversed,andthecauseisremandedtotheTrialCourtforfurtherproceedings.Costsofthisappealareassessedagainstthedefendantappellee.p  K$   \XXdREVERSEDANDREMANDED#XdX\.(# . PH "(    [      c ___________________________    [      c HENRYF.TODD,JUDGE    [      c K' (` XCONCUR:___________________________BENH.CANTRELL,P.J.,M.S.___________________________WILLIAMC.KOCH,JR.,JUDGE` )(