Butts v. Weisz

2010 WL 703238 aff’d 410 Fed.Appx. 470 (3rd Cir. 2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Butts (P) and her husband were guests at the home of D. Glenn Butts was eighty-four years old on that date. The back door of the house opened into a landing area. A person entering through the back door could proceed straight down a stairwell to the basement or could turn left and proceed up a single eight-inch stair into the kitchen. There was no door between the landing and basement stairwell. There was a 'pocket door' between the landing and the kitchen, but Ds were not aware of this door at the time of the accident. There was an overhead lighting fixture at the top of the basement steps. The light switch for this lighting fixture was not at the top of the basement stairwell but rather was located outside the landing area above the entryway. A brief tour of the home was conducted. Ds took Ps out to dinner. In exiting the house. the couples passed through the back door and returned through the same door. D intentionally turned off the light in the landing area after returning. After dinner, P's husband entered the living room and stated he was going to bathroom. He walked through the home's dining room into the kitchen. Georgia Weisz (D) saw P's husband enter the kitchen, and was confused why he went that way. She did not tell him that the other direction was the direct route. Although P believed her husband was going in the wrong direction, any concern she had was assuaged by Georgia Weisz's (D) failure to redirect him. Ds and P heard a crash and found P's husband unresponsive at the bottom of the steps. Glen Butts was pronounced dead of blunt head trauma. The lighting fixture at the top of the basement stairwell was turned off at the time of the accident. P sued D. D moved for summary judgment.