Facts

On September 3, 2020, Carlos Aguilar filed suit against RD America LLC, mistakenly sued as Jetro Restaurant Depot, in Fresno Superior. According to Carlos Aguilar, on September 7, 2018, he went to Jetro Restaurant Depot, in order to pick up restaurant supplies for his business. While there, he alleged that he slipped and fell on soap that remained on the floor.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that he slipped and fell because defendant negligently failed to maintain the premises free from dangerous conditions by failing to inspect the premise thus allowing the soap to remain on the floor for an unreasonable amount of time.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: According to defendant, it did not create nor had notice of the blue soap that spilled between the aisles. Prior to the purported incident, defendant's Assistant Branch Manager performed an inspection before the incident, completing by 4 p.m. Plaintiff asserted he fell 15 minutes later and the same Assistant Branch Manager responded to the incident, inspected the scene, took pictures, and made inquiries with the staff. The Assistant Branch Manager observed there were no indications that a cart had been pushed through the soap, and that no containers for the soap were on the floor near where the incident occurred.

Result

The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment, noting that defendant met its burden and plaintiff failed to counter with evidence demonstrating there was a triable issue of fact.