Rivera Rodriguez, Daisy v. Jc Penney Puerto Rico Inc, KLAN202400334

Daisy Rivera Rodríguez filed a lawsuit against JC Penney Puerto Rico and its insurer, AIG Insurance Company, alleging she suffered physical injuries after tripping over a "z-car" (a clothes cart) inside the JC Penney store in Caguas, Puerto Rico, in July 2020.
Rivera claimed the store was negligent in leaving the cart in a walkway and sought damages for physical injuries and mental anguish, totaling $100,350.
JC Penney's bankruptcy led to a stay in proceedings against it; the case continued solely against AIG.
After discovery, AIG moved for summary judgment, arguing that the condition causing the fall was open and obvious and that Rivera was not exercising due care.
The trial court initially denied the summary judgment request but later, upon reconsideration (unopposed by Rivera), granted AIG's motion and dismissed the case against AIG.
Rivera appealed, arguing the existence of material facts requiring trial and contesting the court’s interpretation of business owner's liability.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether summary judgment was proper or factual disputes exist	Factual disputes about how the incident occurred mean a trial is needed	Cart was visible, Rivera not watching where she was walking; no material dispute	Summary judgment proper; no real factual dispute
Whether commercial premises liability was correctly applied	Store failed its duty to maintain safe premises	Store not absolute insurer; accident caused by Rivera’s lack of attention	Duty correctly applied; owner not absolute insurer
Whether proper procedure was followed in summary judgment	AIG did not meet procedural or substantive requirements	All procedural requirements for summary judgment met	Procedural requirements met by AIG
Whether denial of reconsideration was warranted	Court should have reconsidered due to unresolved facts	No new or material facts were presented on reconsideration	Denial appropriate; no new evidence or facts

Torres v. Municipio de Mayagüez, 111 D.P.R. 158 (P.R. 1981) (establishes requirement of exercising personal care to avoid open and obvious hazards)
Sociedad v. González Padín, 117 D.P.R. 94 (P.R. 1986) (duty of commercial establishments to maintain safe premises for patrons)
Colón v. Kmart, 154 D.P.R. 510 (P.R. 2001) (business owner's duty and limitation of liability for patron injuries)
Colón v. Plaza Las Américas, 136 D.P.R. 235 (P.R. 1994) (store not absolute insurer of patron safety; negligence must be shown)