Esther Yanku v. Walgreen Co.

Syllabus

In this slip-and-fall case, the plaintiff, Esther Yanku, tripped over a speed bump in the parking lot of a Walgreens Pharmacy, sustaining injuries. The plaintiff sued the defendants, Walgreen Co. and Walgreen Eastern Co., Inc., the tenant of the property, and the owners and landlords, Jean Farmanian-Ricci and Joan Frattarelli, Co-Trustees of the Revocable Trust of Armen N. Farmanian. The plaintiff appealed from the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the trial justice erred in granting summary judgment because there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the speed bump presented a dangerous condition on the premises. The Supreme Court held that the trial justice did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the landlords because, as the commercial landlords of the property, they did not owe their tenant's invitee a duty of care. The Supreme Court also deemed the plaintiff's failure to order the transcript of the summary judgment hearing fatal to her appeal because it was impossible to conduct a meaningful review of the Superior Court judgment. Thus, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.