A Glen Carbon shopping center removed a customer’s lawsuit alleging she fell on uneven steps.
Defendants THF Glen Carbon Development and TKG Management filed a notice of removal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on Oct. 13 through attorneys Troy Bozarth and Daniel Lytle of HeplerBroom in Edwardsville.
They argue that removal is appropriate based on diversity of citizenship and the amount in controversy.
Delores Parente filed her lawsuit on Sept. 10 against THF Glen Carbon Development, TKG Management, doing business as The Kroenke Group, and CATO Corporation.
According to the complaint, Parente claims she was on the premises of the Cottonwood Plaza shopping center on Sept. 13, 2013, when she allegedly fell on uneven concrete steps.
Parente claims the defendants were negligent in providing such steps for public use and not providing a handrail. She also alleges there was no warning about the variance in the steps’ riser heights.
After THF Glen Carbon Development filed its notice of removal, CATO Corporation filed a motion for involuntary dismissal on Oct. 20 through attorney David Mueller of Cassidy & Mueller in Peoria.
The defendant asks the court to involuntarily dismiss Count III of the complaint, which is directed at the defendant for allegedly being the “owner or occupier” of the premises where the alleged incident occurred.
However, CATO argues that is was not an owner or occupier of the premises where the plaintiff allegedly fell, meaning it had no control over the property and owed no legal duty regarding the condition of the concrete steps.
The plaintiff seeks damages of more than $50,000.
She is represented by William S. Beatty of Beatty & Motil.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-1163