Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC Attorneys Obtain Summary Judgment for a West Virginia Charitable Organization
SMS Member/Owner Lou Ann S. Cyrus and SMS Associate Dominick R. Pellegrin were successful in obtaining Summary Judgment for a West Virginia charitable organization operating a residential re-entry center housing inmates nearing completion of their sentences. Plaintiff claimed that he had fallen on water in the floor of the facility’s bathroom and shower room, resulting in injury. However, Ms. Cyrus and Mr. Pellegrin successfully argued that the water was an “open and obvious” condition, pursuant to West Virginia Code § 55-7-28, for which the facility could not be held liable. The Court granted Summary Judgment based upon the factual record, which indisputably established that the alleged water hazard on the facility’s floor was plainly an open and obvious condition to the Plaintiff, and therefore, the facility could not be held liable because it owed no duty to the Plaintiff under West Virginia Code § 55-7-28.
About: Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC is a civil defense litigation law firm defending businesses, professionals, and insurers in high-stakes litigation. The firm has over 20 attorneys licensed to practice in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. SMS was founded in Charleston, WV, where it remains headquartered and has additional offices in Morgantown, WV, and Winchester, VA.
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