Earl Stewart v. Boho

Appellant, Earl Stewart, plaintiff below, appeals from a summary final judgment in favor of Appellees, Boho, Inc. and Pubco, Inc. d/b/a Frenchie's Bar and Package Store, defendants below, in a personal injury negligence action. We hold that the defendants failed to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact on Stewart's claim of negligence and reverse the summary final judgment. Stewart and his girlfriend arrived at Frenchie's Bar and Package Store around 10:00 p.m. on December 23, 1983, the night before Christmas Eve. Stewart had been a patron of the bar for the previous ten years and was familiar with its layout. After drinking between two and four beers, Stewart began dancing to live music, provided by the defendants, on an area of the floor used by patrons for dancing. This dancing area was immediately adjacent to the entrance door. As Stewart was dancing, he stepped back and tripped over the leg of another dancer. He threw up his arms in an attempt to steady himself while falling backwards and trying to catch his balance on the entrance door. Just then someone opened the entrance door and Stewart fell backwards through the doorway, across a stoop and onto the hood of a truck parked over the stoop immediately outside the doorway. He struck his back and head on the truck, resulting in his alleged injuries.