Opinion
No. 2020-CC-00565
09-23-2020
Kevin FALCON, Sr. v. REALM REALTY COMPANY and Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company
Writ application denied.
Crichton, J., would grant and assigns reasons.
Crichton, J., would grant and assign for briefing and assigns reasons:
I would grant and assign for briefing this writ application to examine whether the lower courts erred in denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The record reflects that upon entering the defendant's parking lot, plaintiff, without reducing his speed or braking, drove his truck into a yellow pole located in a yellow cross-marked section of the lot. He alleges that the stationary yellow pole created an unreasonable risk of harm. I believe the question of whether such evidence is sufficient to establish that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the bright yellow pole was obvious and apparent – and, correspondingly, whether it created an unreasonable risk of harm – warrants further study by this Court. See Bufkin v. Felipe's Louisiana, LLC , 2014-0288, p. 6 (La. 10/15/14), 171 So.3d 851, 856 ("[A] defendant generally does not have a duty to protect against that which is obvious and apparent."). Accordingly, I would grant defendant's application, assign the case for briefing, and allow the parties to request oral argument pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 966(H).