A customer was injured at a retail pharmacy when numerous beverage bottles fell from a cooler shelf, striking him and causing him to fall. The coolers in the store were stocked by both employees and independent beverage vendors, with vendors responsible for the majority of products and annual “resets” involving shelf removal and cleaning. Employees did not oversee these resets or move shelves due to their weight, and had limited interaction with the shelves apart from maintaining CVS products and general cleaning. On the day of the incident, the customer saw nothing unusual about the cooler shelf, but when he removed a bottle, many others fell, resulting in his injuries. Store staff responded promptly, but neither had ever seen such an incident or received reports of defective shelves.
The customer filed a negligence claim in the Cook County Circuit Court, alleging the pharmacy was responsible for his injuries. The case was removed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois based on diversity jurisdiction. Following discovery, including expert testimony limitations, the district court held a bench trial. The court found the plaintiff failed to prove negligence under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur because the evidence did not establish that the pharmacy had exclusive control over the cooler shelves, given the substantial involvement of third-party vendors.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed the district court’s legal conclusions de novo and factual findings for clear error. The appellate court affirmed the district court’s judgment, holding that res ipsa loquitur did not apply since the plaintiff did not show that the defendant was more likely than not responsible for the injury. The court also found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s evidentiary rulings and limitations on expert testimony.
This article was first published by Justia.
