P slipped and fell on a banana peel in D's supermarket.
There was no evidence presented that D put the banana on the floor or that it had actual notice of its presence.
Procedural History:
District Court found for P.
4th Cir COA reversed, found for D.
Issues:
In order to prove a case in negligence involving the duty of care of a D store to provide a safe environment, what must a P show?
Holding/Rule:
A P must show that the D either created the hazardous condition or that the D had (or should have had) actual notice of the hazardous condition.
Reasoning:
This case turns on the ability to establish constructive notice.
P offered no evidence as to how long the banana had been on the floor prior to the accident.
No one saw the banana until after it was slipped on. The banana peel was brown with dirt on it but was sticky around the edges.
From the evidence, the jury could not tell if it had been on the floor for 30 seconds or 3 days.
Thus, since there is no evidence of how long it may have been on the floor, there is no way to know if the D should have known of the hazardous condition.
