Reginella v. Target Corp.

Evelyn Gustafson, plaintiff's decedent, filed suit against Target after she was injured from a fall in a Target bathroom. Gustafson alleged that Target was negligent in maintaining the bathroom door, which closed with excessive speed and force. The district court granted Target's motion for summary judgment based on insufficient evidence of causation. Although the reports of plaintiff's experts show a possibility of a defect with the door and that such defect could be dangerous to elderly or disabled users of the facility such as Gustafson, and there is evidence that the facility was expressly available to elderly and disabled users, these reports do not purport to assert that such a defect, if present, was in fact likely to be the cause of Gustafson's accident. In this case, the only direct evidence with respect to accident causation before the court on summary judgment are four statements made by Gustafson shortly after her accident and a video that, although it does not rule out the possibility, does not show that Gustafson’s fall was caused by being hit by the restroom door. The court concluded that the link between defendant’s purported negligence and Gustafson’s injury is too weak to permit a jury to conclude that Target’s asserted negligence caused Gustafson’s fall and injury. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Reginella v. Target Corp." on Justia Law