Nathan Habib v. Empire Productions, Inc., d.b.a. Empire + Theater et al.

Personal Injury - Premises Liability - On November 19, 1992, the plaintiff, during his third day of
volunteering to clean out trash and rubble at the Empire Theater
building on Block Island in the town of New Shoreham, fell
through a portion of the theater floor, suffering minor injuries
as a result. Following brief treatment provided for his injuries,
the plaintiff returned to the trash-ridden theater and continued
to volunteer in the cleanup work.

The theater building and property had recently been purchased
by Gary Pollard (Pollard), a defendant. Two years prior thereto,
the plaintiff had viewed the property with a real estate agent.
At that time, and up until the time of the accident, the building
was boarded up and without electricity. The real estate agent,
Michelle Phelan, testified that when she showed the property to
the plaintiff, in addition to there being signs on the building
declaring it to be unsafe, she told the plaintiff about the
structure's unsafe condition. She additionally stated that it was
readily apparent that some portions of the building were in
obvious need of repair.

At trial Pollard testified that he had continually warned all
members of the cleanup crew to proceed with caution on all parts
of the property. He testified also that the plaintiff was aware
of an architectural report concerning the safety of the building.
One member of the cleanup crew, Mark McLaughlin (McLaughlin),
testified that he repeatedly warned the plaintiff about
particular unsafe conditions in the building on the day of the
plaintiffs fall. In fact he testified that on that day, after
noticing deterioration in a particular area of the floor, he
immediately pointed it out to the plaintiff and Pollard. He then
cautioned them to be careful and told them that he would put some
plywood over that particular section of the deteriorated floor.
McLaughlin testified that within a very short time thereafter, he
heard the plaintiffs scream for help and discovered that he had
fallen through the floor in the precise area about which he had
been given warning.

The plaintiff presented a sharply contrasting version of
events. He denied knowing that the building was dangerous. He
testified that had he known of the danger, he would never have
entered the building. He denied also ever having had any
discussions with Pollard regarding the condition of the building
or that Pollard had shown him an architectural report. He claimed
that he was unaware that the building had been condemned. The
plaintiff additionally testified that prior to the accident, he
had not been warned by McLaughlin about the unsafe condition of
the particular area where the accident occurred.

After presentation of the trial evidence, the jury returned
its verdict in favor of the defendant, finding that although the
defendant had been negligent, the plaintiff had voluntarily
assumed the risk of his injury.

Unknown

Unknown

Affirmed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. See: ___ A.2d ___ (R.I. 1999). Note: The above date reflects the appellate court decision date, not the original trial date. Reported by kkm.