Facts

Plaintiff Guadalupe Villanueva alleged she fell at Vallarta Food Enterprises, Inc., on May 14, 2015, as the result of water on the floor near the produce section.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff asserted negligence and premises liability.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Vallarta contended that plaintiff failed to show any negligence on the part of Vallarta and that plaintiff was unable to demonstrate actual or constructive notice giving rise to premises liability. During her deposition, plaintiff admitted she did not know how the water got onto the floor or how long the water had been on the floor before she fell. She also admitted she did not know if Vallarta had prior notice of the alleged spill and that she was not critical of Vallarta's inspection procedures.

Settlement Discussions

Defendant served a $5,000 CCP 998 offer and plaintiff demanded $120,000 to settle.

Specials in Evidence

Mes: Plaintiff alleged approximately $15,000 in past medical expenses with a chiropractor and pain management doctor. Future Meds: $600,000 for left and right total knee replacements

Damages

Approximately $615,000 in past and future medical expenses

Injuries

Plaintiff alleged injury to her right shoulder, left and right knee, lower back and neck. Although plaintiff claimed her injuries resulted from her fall at Vallarta, and tried to hide two subsequent falls on Sept. 25, 2015 and Jan. 6, 2019, a review of her complete medical records revealed the subsequent falls. According to plaintiff's records, she suffered bilateral knee dislocations in both subsequent falls and tried to attribute all injuries to her fall at Vallarta. Plaintiff's retained medical expert, Dr. Ghol Ha'Eri, testified plaintiff did not disclose the subsequent falls to him when he examined plaintiff to form his expert opinions, and that plaintiff attributed all of her injuries to her fall at Vallarta.

Result

Defense verdict. The court granted non-suit on the premises liability claim, but allowed the negligence claim to go to the jury.

Deliberation

one hour

Poll

10-2

Length

two weeks