Lead Opinion
{¶ 1} On Jаnuary 10, 1998, plaintiff-appellant, Paul Armstrong, injured himself when he tripped and fell inside a store owned by defendant-appellee, Best Buy Company, Inc. The injury occurred when Armstrong entered through the exit doors of a vestibule attached to thе entranceway of the store and tripped over the bracket of a shopping-cart guardrail.
{¶ 2} Armstrong filed the instant negligence action against Best Buy. In his complaint, Armstrong alleged that Best Buy negligently created and maintained a dаngerous condition in its store and that it knew or should have known that the condition was dangerous. Best Buy moved for summary judgment, arguing that it owed no duty to protect Armstrong because the shopping-cart guardrail was open and obvious. The trial cоurt granted summary judgment for Best Buy. The court of appeals affirmed. The Ninth District certified its decision as being in conflict with Schindler v. Gale’s Superior Supermarket, Inc. (2001),
{¶ 3} The cause is now before the court upon our determination that a conflict exists.
{¶ 5} The sole issue before this court concerns the viability of the open-and-obvious doctrine, which states that a premises-owner owes no duty to persons entering those premises regarding dangers that are open and obvious. Sidle v. Humphrey (1968),
{¶ 6} Armstrong argues that Texler abrogates the open-and-obvious doctrine. He urges us to follow the certified-conflict case of Schindler, which sought to “analyze the openness and obviousness of a hazard not in terms of the duty owed but rather in terms of сausation.” Schindler,
{¶ 7} We reject Armstrong’s position and that of the Schindler court. The facts of Texler are straightforward. The plaintiff was injured when she tripped and fell over a bucket that the defendant had placed on the sidewalk to prop open a door. The jury found that defendant was 100 percent negligent and thаt the negligence was a proximate cause of plaintiffs injuries. The trial court denied defendant’s motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial. The court of appeals reversed and entered judgment for the defendant. We reversed that decision, finding that reasonable minds could disagree over the allocation of negligence between the parties. Texler,
{¶ 8} A close reading of Texler reveals that the sole issue before us was whether the trial court should have found that the plаintiff was more than 50 percent negligent and, as such, should have granted a motion notwithstanding the
{¶ 9} Wе are cognizant of the fact that some courts have abolished the open- and-obvious rule in favor of a comparative-negligence approach. These courts, like that of Schindler, look at obviousness of the hazаrd as one factor to be taken into account in determining a plaintiffs comparative negligence. See, e.g., Rockweit v. Senecal (1995),
{¶ 10} However, we decline to follow these cases because we believe that the focus in these decisions is misdirected. The courts analyzing the open-and-obvious naturе of the hazard as an element of comparative negligence focus on whether the plaintiffs negligence in confronting an open-and-obvious danger exceeds any negligence attributable to the defendant. See, e.g., Kloes v. Eau Claire Cavalier Baseball Assn., Inc. (1992),
{¶ 11} What these courts fail to recognize is that the open-and-obvious doctrine is not concerned with causation but rather stems from the landowner’s duty to persons injured on his or her property. By failing to recognize the distinction between duty and proximate cause, we believe that these courts have prematurely reached the issues of fault and causation. The Illinois Supreme Court recognized this distinction in Bucheleres v. Chicago Park Dist. (1996),
{¶ 12} In Simmers,
{¶ 13} We continue to adhere to the oрen-and-obvious doctrine today. In reaching this conclusion, we reiterate that when courts apply the rule, they must focus on the fact that the doctrine relates to the threshold issue of duty. By focusing on the duty prong of negligence, the rule properly considers the nature of the dangerous condition itself, as opposed to the nature of the plaintiffs conduct in encountering it. The fact that a plaintiff was unreasonable in choosing to encounter the dangеr is not what relieves the property owner of liability. Rather, it is the fact that the condition itself is so obvious that it absolves the property owner from taking any further action to protect the plaintiff. Ferrell, Emerging Trends in Premises Liability Law: Ohio’s Latest Modification Continues to Chip Away at Bedrock Principles (1995), 21 Ohio N.U.L.Rev. 1121, 1134. Even under the Restatement view, we believe the focus is misdirected because it does not acknowledge that the condition itself is obviously hazardous and that, as a result, no liability is imposed.
{¶ 14} Consequently, we hold that the open-and-obvious doctrine remains viable in Ohio. Where a danger is open and obvious, a landowner owes no duty of care to individuals lawfully on the premises. Sidle v. Humphrey (1968),
{¶ 15} We now turn to the case at hand. Pursuant to Civ.R. 56, summary judgment is appropriate when (1) there is no genuine issue of material fact, (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and (3) reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusiоn is adverse to the nonmoving party, who is entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his or her favor. Horton v. Harwick Chem. Corp. (1995),
{¶ 16} Armstrong admitted in his deposition that when he entered the store, nothing was obstructing his view prior to his fall and that, had he been looking down, he would have seen the guardrail. Armstrong further stated that he had visited the store two or threе times before his mishap. In support of his brief opposing summary judgment, Armstrong offered the affidavit of an alleged expert who opined that the condition was unsafe. However, in viewing the photographs supplied by both parties, we find that as a matter of law, the rail in question was visible to all persons entering and exiting the store. Thus, the rail presented an open-and-obvious danger. As a result, since the hazard was open and obvious, Best Buy owed no duty to Armstrong. No genuine issue of mаterial fact remains. Therefore, we find that summary judgment was appropriately entered for Best Buy. We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.
Judgment affirmed.
Concurrence in Part
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
{¶ 17} In the days of contributory negligence, the “no duty” rule had a role. In an already harsh climate for plaintiffs, it culled many claims lacking legal merit. In the modern era of comparative negligence, it is an archaic thrоwback better left in the past. There is little need for a bright-line cutoff today. Fault can be apportioned and claims litigated accordingly. It just doesn’t make sense that a business would owe an invitee “no duty.”
{¶ 18} The rule essentially requires every person entering a store to engage a 360-degree radar system in order to be at all times aware of open-and-obvious dangers. Based on the facts before us, Best Buy apparently expects its patrons to watch the floor constantly, thereby missing its splashy merchandising. There is no other way to avoid tripping over a rail that is only inches off the floor.
{¶ 19} We have all tripped over something left on the floor by our children, spouse, roommate, or even ourselves. Many times, the item tripped over is in plain sight, open, and obvious. Nevertheless, we trip because we don’t see the item. Open-and-obvious dangers are not always seen, and a jury is capable of determining whether the рerson not seeing an open-and-obvious danger was wholly, partially, or not at fault. The open-and-obvious-danger doctrine is a
{¶ 20} Even so, I concur in that portion of the majority opinion that concludes that Texler did not address or abrogate the open-and-obvious doctrine. I dissent because I would abrogate the doctrine today.