Lori Battern and Terry Evans obtained a unanimous defense verdict in the case of Linda Allen v. Hy-Vee, Inc. before a Nodaway County, Missouri jury in March 2019. Plaintiff alleged she slipped and fell on ice on the concrete of Hy-Vee’s gas station parking lot near the gas pumps on December 22, 2016. Plaintiff alleged she sustained a torn rotator cuff that required surgical repair.
Plaintiff testified she was walking around her vehicle to clean her car windshields when she slipped and fell. Plaintiff additionally testified she did not see ice but felt that the area was slick. After her fall, Plaintiff went into the convenience store, notified an employee of her fall, and requested salt be applied to the area. Hy-Vee’s employees testified that the area was inspected both before and after Plaintiff’s fall and no ice or slick conditions were discovered. Ice melt was applied after Plaintiff’s fall only to appease Plaintiff’s request as part of good customer service. Hy-Vee, Inc. presented evidence and argued that no ice was present.
Defendant did not dispute that Plaintiff was injured in her fall.
After short deliberations, a Nodaway County jury returned a verdict assessing zero fault to Hy-Vee, Inc.
