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Negligence

By: Derek Hawkins//December 5, 2016//

Negligence

By: Derek Hawkins//December 5, 2016//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Hannah Piotrowski, et al v. Menard, Inc.

Case No.: 15-3163

Officials: BAUER, POSNER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Negligence

Hannah Piotrowski was injured after slipping on two small rocks in the parking lot of a Menard store. She filed this suit alleging that her injuries were due to Menard’s negligence, contending that the rocks must have come from a planter that Menard maintained outside the store or from decorative rocks that the store sold in bags of at least forty pounds. We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the store because Piotrowski’s belief that she fell as a result of the store’s negligence is only speculation, and speculation is not enough to survive summary judgment under Illinois law. That Piotrowski fell in the Menard’s parking lot after slipping on two rocks is not enough to support an inference that Menard’s negligence caused the fall. In addition, there is no evidence of a pattern of conduct or recurring incident, and the store’s general manager and employees regularly monitored the parking lot for unsafe conditions.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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