Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP

Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit upheld a District Court’s order granting summary judgment to Home Depot USA, Inc. in a slip and fall case.  Pro se plaintiff Anastasios Smalis (“Smalis”) alleged that he slipped and fell in a restroom of a Pittsburgh Home Depot.  He observed water on the floor after he fell, but he “did not know the source of the water or how long it had been there and – being startled from his fall – did not notice anything that could have caused the floor’s hazardous condition.”  Smalis v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., No. 24-1094, 2024 WL 3372917, at *1 (3d Cir. July 11, 2024).  Thereafter he commenced a state court lawsuit against Home Depot, which then removed the case to the U.S. District Court. 

On December 7, 2023 the District Court granted Home Depot’s motion for summary judgment against Smalis, finding that “there [was] no evidence Home Depot caused the water in the men’s restroom nor that it had actual notice of it,” and that Smalis failed to present evidence as to how long the water had been present on the floor prior to his fall, thus preventing him from establishing Home Depot knew the water was on the floor and therefore had constructive notice of the condition.  Id. Some 32 days after the Court’s summary judgment decision was entered, Smalis filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied as untimely.  Smalis appealed.

The Third Circuit upheld the District Court’s summary judgment decision for substantially the same reasons set forth in the District Court’s opinion.  As for Smalis’ motion for reconsideration, the Third Circuit also upheld the District Court’s decision, as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that any motion for a new trial or to alter or amend a judgment must be filed within 28 days of the entry of judgment.  As Smalis failed to file his motion within the required 28 day period (32 days) his motion was properly denied as untimely.  Id.

This decision, while brief, demonstrates the importance of filing a summary judgment motion in a slip and fall case where Plaintiff has failed to present evidence to establish actual or constructive notice.  It also reminds us of the importance of adhering to filing deadlines when moving to alter or amend judgment, or, moving for a new trial.