Preview:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND CIRIANO PICENO v. WAL-MART STORES, INC. : : : : : MEMORANDUM

Civil No. CCB-07-2658

Ciriano Piceno ("Mr. Piceno") has sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ("Wal-Mart") for negligence stemming from a slip-and-fall incident in one of Wal-Mart's stores. Now pending before the court is Wal-Mart's motion for summary judgment. The issue has been fully briefed and no hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons articulated below, WalMart's motion will be denied.

BACKGROUND On October 22, 2005, Mr. Piceno, who had entered the Hunt Valley Wal-Mart store to use the restroom, slipped and fell on what he alleges was water on the floor. Mr. Piceno had driven his wife to Wal-Mart and dropped her off at the entrance to the store. He then parked the car and waited in the parking lot. He did not intend to join his wife inside the store. After about a half hour, however, Mr. Piceno left his car and entered the store to use the restroom. While walking towards the restroom, which was located approximately fifteen feet inside the front door, Mr. Piceno slipped and fell to the floor. Mr. Piceno says that, prior to falling, he noticed a "housekeeping cart" between the doors leading to the men's and women's restrooms. Mr. Piceno states that while he was lying on the floor, he realized that the floor must have been 1

mopped because his clothes and hand were wet. In October 2007, Mr. Piceno sued Wal-Mart for negligence. He claimed that Wal-Mart "did not use ordinary care to see that the premises on which it had invited the Plaintiff to enter were safe nor did they give him reasonable notice of the unsafe condition." (Compl.

Download Ciriano Piceno v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc..pdf

Maryland Law