Stevy Ellis v. Snookums Steakhouse, LLC, W2024-01165-COA-R3-CV

Stevy Ellis visited Snookums Steakhouse, LLC, and after her meal, sat on a bench outside the restaurant.
Upon sitting, the bench flipped or tilted from end to end, causing Ms. Ellis to fall and allegedly sustain injuries.
The bench was missing a backrest, and there were new bolts where the backrest would normally attach, but there was no evidence it was otherwise damaged or defective.
Plaintiffs sued, claiming negligence and premises liability, alleging that the missing backrest/bench condition was unreasonably dangerous and caused injury.
The trial court granted summary judgment to defendants, finding the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate the existence of a dangerous or defective condition on the property.
Plaintiffs appealed, arguing that the bench tipping was itself evidence of a dangerous condition.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the bench a dangerous or defective condition?	Bench tipping over when sat upon is inherently dangerous, especially missing backrest	No evidence of defect or that missing backrest made it dangerous	Bench not shown to be dangerous/defective; summary judgment affirmed

Blair v. W. Town Mall, 130 S.W.3d 761 (Tenn. 2004) (business owners must exercise due care, but are not insurers of patrons’ safety)
Eaton v. McLain, 891 S.W.2d 587 (Tenn. 1994) (plaintiff must prove premises owner caused, created, or had notice of dangerous condition)
Rice v. Sabir, 979 S.W.2d 305 (Tenn. 1998) (no duty to warn unless an unreasonable risk was foreseeable)
Parker v. Holiday Hosp. Franchising, Inc., 446 S.W.3d 341 (Tenn. 2014) (duty requires removal or warning of conditions that are actually dangerous)