Absolu v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP

Summary

In this premises liability trial, Jennie Absolu slipped on a puddle in a Walmart weeks after giving birth. The fall occurred on a rainy day, with the puddle caused by customers bringing wet umbrellas into the store. Absolu sues Walmart, claiming employees should have noticed the growing puddle and cleaned it before she fell. This fall, she argues, gave her back injuries, which required three surgeries and pain management injections.

Defendant Walmart asserts that multiple customers walked through the puddle with no issue. Representatives for the company claim that the water was not on the ground for long enough for Walmart to be aware of it.

Outcome

Verdict for defendant.

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Absolu, Jennie
Defense: Wal-Mart Stores East, LP

Judge: Bradley Harper
Jurisdiction: 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: Palm Beach County Courthouse

Case Number: 2019-CA-006300
Industry: Retail
Practice Area: Negligence

Plaintiff

Absolu, Jennie

Defense

Wal-Mart Stores East, LP

Represented By:
Reed, Gregory (Simon, Reed & Salazar)
Smothers, Julian (Simon, Reed & Salazar)

Expert Witnesses

Osborn, Dr. Brett

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Openings

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:04:28	Opening Statement	Hunt, Peter
00:38:15	Opening Statement	Smothers, Julian
01:01:44	General Case Activities
01:04:16	Break
01:12:21	General Case Activities
01:19:24	End of Session

NOV

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

NOV

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

17 Chapters

NOV

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

NOV

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

NOV

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:46	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Poitier, Kenneth	In Person
00:40:18	Witness Cross Examination	Reed, Gregory	Poitier, Kenneth	In Person
01:25:58	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Poitier, Kenneth	In Person
01:38:18	General Case Activities		Poitier, Kenneth	In Person
01:40:35	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:42	Witness Direct Examination		Valerio, Dr. Jose	Video Recording
01:36:36	Break
01:55:43	General Case Activities
01:57:43	Witness Direct Examination		Gonzalez, Dr. Gabriel	Video Recording
02:59:24	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Flannigan, Virginia	In Person
03:26:37	Witness Cross Examination	Smothers, Julian	Flannigan, Virginia	In Person
03:32:56	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Flannigan, Virginia	In Person
03:35:50	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:52	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Rosamond, Donnabell	In Person
00:21:12	Witness Cross Examination	Smothers, Julian	Rosamond, Donnabell	In Person
00:26:36	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Rosamond, Donnabell	In Person
00:32:22	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Roush, Dr. Thomas	In Person
01:20:19	Break
01:43:32	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Roush, Dr. Thomas	In Person
02:06:14	Witness Cross Examination	Reed, Gregory	Roush, Dr. Thomas	In Person
02:47:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Roush, Dr. Thomas	In Person
02:51:46	General Case Activities		Roush, Dr. Thomas	In Person
02:57:17	Break
03:13:37	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Tompkins,	Video Conference
03:41:50	Witness Cross Examination	Smothers, Julian	Tompkins,	Video Conference
04:04:31	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Tompkins,	Video Conference
04:11:43	General Case Activities		Tompkins,	Video Conference
04:18:15	General Case Activities
04:34:24	End of Session

Absolu v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:29	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Absolu, Jennie	In Person
00:48:54	Break
01:43:40	Witness Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Absolu, Jennie	In Person
01:55:36	Witness Cross Examination	Reed, Gregory	Absolu, Jennie	In Person
03:08:21	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hunt, Peter	Absolu, Jennie	In Person
03:22:22	General Case Activities		Absolu, Jennie	In Person
03:25:12	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:00	Witness Direct Examination	Reed, Gregory	Osborn, Dr. Brett	In Person
01:03:15	Break
01:27:22	Witness Direct Examination	Reed, Gregory	Osborn, Dr. Brett	In Person
01:31:32	Witness Cross Examination	Vannatta, Tim	Osborn, Dr. Brett	In Person
02:31:54	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Reed, Gregory	Osborn, Dr. Brett	In Person
02:46:25	General Case Activities		Osborn, Dr. Brett	In Person
02:53:09	General Case Activities
03:00:55	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:17:31	Closing Statement	Hunt, Peter
01:07:15	Closing Statement	Reed, Gregory
02:23:38	Break
02:33:17	Closing Statement	Hunt, Peter
02:58:30	General Case Activities
03:07:23	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:02:38	Reading of the Verdict
		00:03:07	General Case Activities
		00:04:25	End of Session