Two repair companies deny liability and seek to dismiss a suit alleging a customer was injured when he was allegedly struck by an automatic door at the Belleville Office Depot store.
Walter Hood filed the complaint Jan. 25 against Office Depot Inc. and Miner Fleet Management LLC. He later amended his complaint on Oct. 12, 2018, adding St. Louis Automatic Door Co. LLC as a defendant.
Hood alleges he was exiting the Office Depot store in Belleville on Dec. 7, 2016 when he was struck by an automatic door.
As a result, he claims he suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder and other parts of his body.
Hood alleges the defendants failed to provide a safe ingress and egress at their Belleville store and failed to warn their customers of the known unsafe condition.
According to an affidavit by senior director Roxann Garcia, Miner Fleet Management is not the manufacturer, distributor or installer of the automatic doors and components in question. The affidavit also states that the defendant does not own, control or possess any part of the Office Depot store.
Garcia states that the property owners of the Office Depot store would contact Miner Fleet Management for repairs. St. Louis Automatic Door was one of the independent contractor vendors Miner Fleet Management would send repair requests to.
Miner Fleet Management filed a motion to dismiss count IV of the plaintiff’s first amended complaint on March 6 through attorney Barry Noeltner of Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen in Edwardsville.
The defendant argues that the plaintiff’s reliance on the theory of res ipsa loquitor is insufficient.
“Res ipsa applies only where an occurrence ordinarily does not happen in the absence of negligence, by an agency or instrumentality within the defendant’s exclusive control, and under circumstances indicating that the injury was not due to any voluntary act or neglect on the part of the plaintiff,” the motion states.
However, the defendant argues that the plaintiff did not provide the necessary facts.
“Moreover, as the court will note, two counts have been plead against each of the defendants, one in negligence and the second under the theory of res ipsa loquitor,” the motion states. “A plaintiff alleging specific negligence cannot rely on the theory of res ipsa loquitor.”
Miner Fleet Management also answered the amended complaint on March 6, denying liability.
In its affirmative defenses, the defendant argues that the plaintiff contributed to his own injuries by failing to conduct himself in a reasonably prudent and safe manner.
St. Louis Automatic Door filed a motion to dismiss count VI of the complaint on Nov. 27 through attorney Joshua Edelson of Craney Law Group LLC in Edwardsville.
The defendant argues that the alleged incident occurred roughly seven months after the last maintenance service was completed.
"Plaintiff attempts to allege the essential element of exclusive control in that the door at issue was in St. Louis Door's exclusive control," the motion states. "However, plaintiff cannot ever establish this element since the door at issue was clearly in the exclusive control and ownership of Office Depot, Inc. and/or Miner Fleet Management Group LLC at the time of the injury, and at all times after it was last serviced by this defendant on May 11, 2016."
The plaintiff seeks damages of more than $50,000, plus costs.
Hood is represented by Aaron J. Chappell of Becker, Hoerner, Thompson & Ysursa PC in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 18-L-57