Facts

Defendant Robert K. Morrison owned a building at which Frazee Paints was the lessee (and plaintiff's employer). Said building had a roof over its loading dock, for which Morrison was responsible for the maintenance and repair.

In 2004, a windy storm caused part of the roof to blow off. As a result, there was a huge hole in the roof over the area where employees would load paint into Frazee Paints' truck. In the past, the roof covered the entire loading dock area, enabling the employees and truck to remain dry when it rained.

In January 2005, plaintiff Neal Henderson was loading paint into Frazee Paints' truck at the loading dock area. It started to rain heavily, and the truck bed became slippery as the rain poured through the hole in the roof. Plaintiff tried to exit the truck bed. However, he slipped and fell on the wet tailgate. He broke his shoulder when his body struck the concrete loading dock.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The evidence showed that the roof was damaged in 2004, but defendant Robert Morrison waited until after plaintiff's accident to fix it. Had the hole been repaired earlier, plaintiff would not have fallen. Defendant was therefore negligent.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendant Morrison took reasonable steps to fix the roof. Further, even before the hole in the roof existed, water would enter the truck bed when it rained. Moreover, Frazee was negligent for not modifying the loading system after the hole occurred in the roof.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff made an offer to compromise in the amount of $65,000 pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998, but defendant did not make any offers.

Injuries

Plaintiff sustained a fracture to his right shoulder. His expert orthopedic surgeon opined that he would need shoulder replacement surgery.

Result

Plaintiff was awarded $450,000. Defendant Morrison was found to be 80 percent liable. Frazee was found to be 20 percent liable.

Deliberation

two hours

Length

four days