Breach of Duty of Care

By: Derek Hawkins//June 17, 2019//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Robert McCarty v. Menard, Inc.,

Case No.: 18-3069

Officials: HAMILTON, BARRETT, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Breach of Duty of Care

Robert McCarty tripped over a product display sign at a Menard’s home improvement store and then filed suit. The district court dismissed the case at summary judgment in favor of Menard. Because McCarty has not established that Menard owed him a duty of care, we need not address his causation arguments. See Roh v. Starbucks Corp., 881 F.3d 969, 973 (7th Cir. 2018) (“Under Illinois law, a plaintiff must establish the existence of a duty, the defendant’s breach of that duty, and that the breach proximately caused the plaintiff’s resulting injuries.”). We affirm based on the open and obvious doctrine which implicates the general duty of care owed to business invitees in Illinois.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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