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MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Woman’s suit alleging she fell while cutting grass voluntarily dismissed

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St. Clair County Circuit Judge Andrew Gleeson granted voluntary dismissal in a woman’s suit alleging she fell on a city retaining wall while cutting her grass.

The case was voluntarily dismissed by plaintiff Jody Jordan on Dec. 21. That same day, Jordan filed a memorandum in law in opposition to the City of Belleville’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

Jordan filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the motion to dismiss through attorney Andrew Toennies of Lashly & Baer in St. Louis.

Jordan argued that the case is not time barred because she did not discover the area was Belleville until she was injured on Sept. 6, 2015.

She also argued that she properly pled all claims and can establish facts entitling her to relief.

“A court dismissing a cause of action for pleading deficiencies is a drastic measure and should only be done when plaintiff can prove no set of facts establishing his or her claims,” the memorandum states.

The City of Belleville sought dismissal on Aug. 8 through attorney Thomas Hunter of Becker Hoerner Thompson & Ysursa in Belleville.

The defendant argued that Jordan’s complaint “alleges that the Defendant ‘improperly built the retaining wall’ but does not factually describe the dangerous condition other than to say there was a retaining wall.”

“In particular, the Complaint does not allege any aspect of the retaining wall other than it existed, such as whether the retaining wall was mal-designed or defectively constructed. Moreover, the Complaint does not sufficiently allege the location of the incident including the address of the property and, specifically, whether the alleged fall occurred while on the property of the City of Belleville,” the motion states.

The defendant also argued that the complaint was time-barred, because the suit was filed more than four years after the expiration of the temporary construction easement.

Jordan filed her lawsuit on June 17 against the City of Belleville. She alleged she was cutting her grass at 17th and South Belt East in Belleville on Sept. 6, 2015, when she fell on a “dangerous” retaining wall built by the city.

She argued that the defendant failed to warn her of the danger by posting a notice or safety cone and improperly built the retaining walls, creating a dangerous condition.

Jordan sought a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 16-L-320

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