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Trans-Vaughn Development Corp. v. Cummings6/2/2005
of DFCS. The rear entrance and stairs where Cummings fell pre-existed the purchase of the building by Trans-Vaughn, and they were not renovated or altered in any way as part of the remodeling project.
Prior to when Cummings fell, DFCS had not received any complaints about the rear entrance or its stairs. Nor was Cummings aware of anyone else falling while entering or exiting through the rear entrance during her tenure with DFCS. Trans-Vaughn also was unaware of any prior injury having occurred there.
Alleged Building Code Violations. There is a fierce dispute between the parties over whether the rear entrance was defectively constructed and in violation of the relevant building codes at the time of the slip and fall incident, and over whether Trans-Vaughn had prior knowledge of the purported violations. Cummings contends that the applicable building codes required that the rear entrance have a landing and handrails. Cummings further argues that Trans-Vaughn knew that the rear entrance was not up to code when it remodeled the office building in 1992 because its architect notified the company of the violations and drafted architectural plans to correct the code violations. Cummings contends that Trans-Vaughn ignored these plans and instead chose to renovate the building without making any corrections to the rear entrance.
In contrast, Trans-Vaughn argues that the architectural plans containing the drawing of a rear entrance with a landing were the result of the architect's mistaken assumption (having at that time not yet viewed the entire premises) that the rear entrance already had a landing prior to the renovations. Trans-Vaughn further contends that the applicable building codes, as those codes were implemented by Coweta County, did not require that a landing or handrails be added to the rear entrance as part of the remodeling project. Finally, Trans-Vaughn emphasizes that it received a Certificate of Occupancy from Coweta County following the remodeling project that approved of the work that had been done and that did not require the company to perform any work on the rear entrance.
Arguing that the factual dispute between the parties concerning building code violations was irrelevant under the circumstances, Trans- Vaughn moved for summary judgment. Trans-Vaughn contended that the undisputed evidence demonstrated that Cummings had equal knowledge of the static defect in the entranceway, thus preventing her recovery as a matter of law, regardless of whether any building codes had been violated. The trial court denied the motion , and Trans-Vaughn applied for interlocutory review by this Court. We granted the application on November 1, 2004.
Our review of the trial court's summary judgment ruling is de novo. Botterbusch, 271 Ga. App. at 190. We begin by noting that Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735, 748-49 (2)(b) (493 SE2d 403) (1997), sets forth the basic framework for analysis in premises liability cases involving slip and fall incidents:
in order to recover for injuries sustained in a slip-and-fall action, an invitee must prove (1) that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard; and (2) that the plaintiff lacked knowledge of the hazard despite the exercise of ordinary care due to actions or conditions within the control of the owner/occupier. However, the plaintiff's evidentiary proof concerning the second prong is not shouldered until the defendant establishes negligence on the part of the plaintiff-i.e., that the plaintiff intentionally and unreasonably exposed self to a hazard of which the plaintiff knew or, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known.
Although Robinson sets forth the g
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