New Jersey Appellate Division Affirms Dismissal of Slip-and-Fall Suit at Concert Venue

The plaintiff claimed she was injured when she slipped and fell on a wet floor at a concert at the Prudential Center. The defendants argued there was no actual or constructive notice of a spill and, therefore, they breached no duty owed to the plaintiff. 

The defendants presented uncontroverted evidence of inspection patrols of the area. The plaintiff argued that the defendants had directed her to her seat and had permitted open containers. However, the plaintiff presented no evidence of how long the liquid had been on the floor or its source; therefore, she was unable to establish her theories of liability under basic negligence and mode of operations. The mode of operations did not apply simply because there were open containers handed to customers. In this case, there was no self-service component established by the plaintiff. 

In its de novo review, the New Jersey Appellate Division confirmed that the trial court’s ruling was correct and there was “no evidence of a liquid, where it came from, and if it was ever there, how long it had been on the floor.” The appellate panel’s decision summarily dismissed the plaintiff’s negligence claims as to the janitorial entities at the arena. 

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