Carolyn Martin v. Hearn Spurlock, Inc. d/b/a J.B.'s Express

This is a negligence case in which appellant, Carolyn Martin, slipped on the freshly mopped floor of a business establishment owned by appellee, Hearn Spurlock, Inc., and fractured her kneecap. At the close of appellant's case, appellee moved for a directed verdict, which the trial court granted. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in doing so. We agree, and therefore reverse and remand.

A property owner has a duty to exercise ordinary care to maintain his premises in a reasonably safe condition for the benefit of an invitee. Brunt v. Food 4 Less, Inc., 318 Ark. 427, 885 S.W.2d 894 (1994). In order to prevail in a slip- and-fall case involving an invitee, the plaintiff must show either (1) that the presence of a substance upon the premises was the result of the defendant's negligence, or (2) that the substance had been on the premises for such a length of time that the defendant knew or reasonably should have known of its presence and failed to use ordinary care to remove it. Kopriva v. Burnett-Croom-Lincoln-Paden, LLC., 70 Ark. App.131, 15 S.W.3d 361 (2000).

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Reversed and remanded.

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