Joseph AUBIN v. MAG REALTY, LLC

Citations

• 161 A.3d 1143
• 2017 WL 2602668
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 85

Syllabus

In this slip-and-fall case, the Supreme Court was called upon to determine whether the trial justice misstepped when she granted the defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law. The plaintiff, Joseph Aubin, alleged that he slipped on a patch of \black ice\ in the paved parking area adjacent to his apartment building, which was owned by the defendant, MAG Realty, LLC. The plaintiff claimed that his fall resulted in a torn rotator cuff that required surgery and caused the plaintiff to be unable to work for a period of several months. The plaintiff argues on appeal that the trial justice erred because issues of fact remained in dispute and that, when reviewing the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, it was possible for the plaintiff to prevail in his negligence action. Because the Supreme Court does not weigh evidence when analyzing a Rule 50 motion, the Court held that there was enough evidence to send the case to the jury. Consequently, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice's grant of judgment as a matter of law was made in error. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Superior Court.